Intensity
by luckycharm9
Summary: Takes place right after final battle. Harry and his friends are back at Hogwarts to complete their 8th year in the aftermath of the battle. How will Harry adjust to his new life, Voldemort free, and with an unexpected intensity between Draco Malfoy? HP/DM Slash. slow build. HP/GW in beginning.
1. Chapter 1

Harry watched as the splinters from the elder wand flew away with satisfaction. He glanced to his left to see Ron looking after the shards longingly, and Hermione looking pleased. They all knew this was for the best; well, maybe Harry and Hermione knew it. If Harry had kept it, he would constantly have to be on the lookout for witches and wizards who would try to best him in a duel to become the elder wand's new owner. No one should have that much power. Being the master of death for the short time that he had been, Harry knew that he didn't want it. He was content with his own wand, the wand that he had mended just before breaking the elder wand.

Harry sighed, gripping them both around their shoulders and gesturing towards the castle. He began walking into the great hall, glancing behind him to see his two best friends following behind slowly, their hands grasped tightly. Harry smiled to himself slightly. After everything that had happened and all the people they had lost, he was glad that his friends had finally given in to each other and were together. Merlin knew that they would all need to hold everyone they loved closer in the aftermath of the war and losses.

Walking into the hall, he surveyed the scene before him. Destruction was everywhere, with rubble, stones, and dust covering everything. There were people sitting around chaotically, with students sitting at random house tables. Everyone was mingling and talking about the war and the future to come with each other. Everyone except three morose looking blonde's off to the side of the room. Harry halted, slightly hidden behind a semi-erect pillar, as Hermione and Ron passed him by. He was shocked that the Malfoy family was still here. He had expected them to flee the second they could, as had all of the other death eater families at Voldemort's demise. But, Harry thought, perhaps their refusal to fight in the last battle and Mrs. Malfoy lying for him truly meant that they had finally seen the horror that was Voldemort and decided to switch sides at the last minute.

Lucius and Narcissa had their heads bent and were quietly talking to one another, while their son sat slightly away from them starring at his hands. Harry watched as the blonde boy sat seemingly oblivious to his surroundings, ignoring everything that was going on around him. Harry, still hidden behind the pillar from the prying eyes of his classmates and other people still milling about, took in the blonde before him. He saw that despite the boys slightly dusty clothing, his hair and skin still appeared to be immaculate and clean. _Of course, it wasn't like he was fighting or anything, the coward!_ As he was watching, Malfoy glanced up towards his parents as he heard his name fall from their lips. Harry saw a haunted, gaunt look on the younger Malfoy's face that he remembered seeing that fateful day during 6th year when he had seen Malfoy in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Harry was surprised to feel a strange sensation as he watched his classmate, deep in himself. What was that he was feeling? Pity? Maybe. Slightly. But he thought it was better described as understanding. Malfoy looked as alone as Harry felt at the moment. Apparently deciding that his parents were done speaking to him, Malfoy started to glance down again when he felt a pair of eyes burning into him.

He shifted his sharp gray eyes, immediately finding the pair of green eyes staring at him. Startling to find the other eyes intensely scrutinizing him, Draco starred right back at Potter, replacing his dejected look with a familiar sneer gracing his lips. _Who did Potter think he was? Staring at him, judging he and his family, no doubt. Gryffindor's golden boy, Saint Potter!_ As he watched, Potter, realizing he was caught starring at his nemesis, scrambled from his spot, a pink hue gracing his cheeks, much to his dismay. Glancing again, he saw Malfoy smirking at him as the blonde saw the blush across his face. Snarling to himself, he turned away from the boy in frustration, silently glad that they were back in their normal roles, with the smirking, snarling, and general hatred of one another. The slightly disturbing warmth that he had been starting to feel while staring at Malfoy was quickly replaced with the all too familiar feeling of anger towards the blonde.

Striding away quickly and shaking off the strange reaction he seemed to be having to Malfoy, he walked over to the long table where the Weasley's sat. " _Shake it off, Harry. You're just exhausted"_ he thought to himself. He saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley holding each other tightly, with tears slipping down Mrs. Weasley's cheeks, and Mr. Weasley looking devastated. George was still sobbing noisily, kneeling on the floor next to his dead twin's body, with Percy holding him from the side. Ron and Hermione were also now sitting at the table, talking quietly with Charlie and Bill. Ginny sat starring at the floor silently. She had tear tracks on her face but her eyes were dry and hard. Looking up, she saw him approaching and locked eyes with him.

Harry, unaware of all the eyes in the great hall suddenly on him as he was now in full view again, including the pair of cold grey eyes still starring intensely at him, only saw Ginny. He took in her vibrant red hair, her pale, stark face, and her blazing eyes. She looked so similar to the day that they had first kissed that for a moment, it took Harry's breath away. Seeing her looking at him with her hard, blazing, determined eyes had him walking quickly towards her as she stood to meet him. For a moment they said nothing to each other, just starring and drinking each other in. And then, as if they had suddenly been unfrozen, she leaped into his arms, as he crushed her to him, burying his head in her long hair as he felt her start to shake with low sobs. Closing his eyes, he breathed in her floral scent that he had missed so much while on the hunt for horcruxes. They stood, wrapped around each other for what seemed like hours, but was really probably only minutes. When Harry felt her stop shaking for a few minutes, he pulled away, looking down at her. Her eyes were dry again, and she had an exhausted, broken expression on her face. Harry gently wiped the tear tracks from her cheeks and leaned down to brush his lips across her forehead lightly. When Ginny leaned into his touch, he pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers.

"I'm so sorry, Gin. I'm so, so sorry" He whispered to her.

In response, she clutched his arms tightly and nodded her head. Opening her eyes and looking back up at him, she gave him a slight smile, some of the cold leaving her normally warm brown eyes. She grabbed his hand and tugged him to sit down next to her with his surrogate family.

Upon sitting, with his hand still clutched in Ginny's small palm, the rest of the Weasley's looked to him. Almost immediately Mrs. Weasley came around to crush him to hear chest, sobbing and thanking him over and over again. Harry awkwardly patted her on the back as he looked to Ron for help. Upon being detached by a grumbling Ron, Harry joined in the scattered talk between the family, comforting each other as best they could.

* * *

" _What the hell was that?"_ Draco thought to himself quizzically. It had felt like a magnet was holding his gaze to the messy haired hero, and he had been unable to tear his gaze away, along with the rest of the crowd. " _And what the hell was that feeling when he hugged the little blood traitor?"_ It had been like Draco had been willing Potter to look up at meet his gray eyes again. For what, he didn't know. He knew the connection he had to Potter was intense. But that intensity had always been fueled by hate, which seemed to suit them both just fine. He had been relieved when he saw Potter snarling to himself for being caught staring. He was happy to see that pitying look wiped off his enemy's face. They didn't pity each other! And they sure as hell didn't feel anything for each other, other than pure, blind hatred.

Shaking his head from his confusing thoughts, he stiffened when he realized his parents had been staring at him while he was staring at Potter with a slightly dazed look on his face.

"What?" He snapped at them rudely. He was in no mood for their scheming and taunting.

"Draco, that is no way to speak to your mother and I. Watch that mouth!" His father said, his eyes flashing dangerously. "You may want to be less obvious the next time you decide to eye the _savior_ as if you want to eat him". With a smirk, he glanced at Potter hugging the despicable Weasley girl.

"Excuse me? I was doing no such thing! That foul git has my wand, and I want it returned!" Malfoy snapped at his father, infuriated by his father's smug, knowing look that he shot his son in return.

"Whatever you say, Draco" his father said nastily. What his son saw in that mess haired, stumbling, awkward man he would never know. He knew that there was animosity and hatred between the two boys, but Lucius had a feeling that there was much more to it than that. There was no way that his son being so obsessed with Potter was normal. All he heard about all school year in Draco's letters home were 'Potter this, and Potter that'. Draco was clearly unaware of this obsession he had.

A few minutes later, Lucius stood, gesturing to his wife and son. "Come. Let's go home and rest while we can. I'm sure someone will be along to collect us all soon enough". Narcissa and Draco followed him resolutely, knowing he was probably right. The aurors were bound to show up on their doorstep any minute now. With a last glance at Potter, who was watching them leave, Draco walked out of the castle, and disapparated home.

* * *

They had sat together for another hour before the Weasley family had started to disperse, most going to the burrow for comfort and familiarity. Only Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny stayed behind, heading towards the Gryffindor common room to sleep in their old quarters.

Upon entering the empty common room, they sprawled in the chairs, and Hermione lit the fire. Ron and Hermione cuddled on the couch next to the fire place and Ginny curled up in Harry's lap on his favorite plush chair directly in front of the fire place.

"I can't believe it's all over," Ginny murmured.

"I know. It's like I don't even know what to do with myself now", Harry answered quietly.

Hermione pulled her head up from Ron's chest where he was stroking her wild hair. "I'm sure that in the morning Professor McGonagall will begin with restorations to the castle, beginning with the wards around the perimeter. As it is, anyone can apparate in and out of Hogwarts, so it's not safe. And with all the death eater's still needing to be rounded up by the aurors, the wards need to be put up as soon as possible." She explained reasonably.

"Speaking of death eaters, did you see ferret and his parents hanging around after the battle? I bet if they'd had wands they would've attacked us!" Ron snarled.

"Ron! You have _got_ to get over this paranoia with the Malfoys. You don't know that. Maybe they weren't sure what to do. I mean, Voldemort took over Malfoy Manor. They can't have been in a hurry to return to that place." Hermione scolded.

Ron grumbled to himself under his breath for a few moments, and then it was silent again for a few minutes.

"She saved me." Harry broke the silence.

"What are you talking about Mate?" Ron questioned.

"Narcissa. Mrs. Malfoy. When I was there, in the woods with Voldemort and the death eaters, she told him I was dead. She asked me if Draco was alive and then she lied for me. So that I could kill him. She saved me. And Malfoy lowered his wand. That day. You know that. I told you that. I told you that I found him in the bathroom the day I used sectumsempra on him. What I didn't tell you was that he was crying. Like, really crying. He looked miserable. Like he was lost…" Harry trailed off from his heated speech for a few moments, leaving the room in a stark silence. "you didn't see him. So you don't know. But he's different now. I can feel it. He might still be a snarky git that we all love to hate, and an arrogant pure blood ass, but he's no death eater. You know what Lucius is like. And with him for a father and Voldemort living down the hall, do you really think he had much choice in the things he's had to do the last few years?! So shut the hell up about things you don't know about ok Ron?" Harry vehemently finished, breathing hard.

There was a continued silence while Harry refused to look at anyone. He had felt Ginny go rigid in his lap during his tirade of defending Malfoy, and he wasn't sure what to do to dispel the sudden awkwardness. He cleared his throat after a minute and gently nudged Ginny off his lap to stand up.

"Look… it's been a long day. Hell, it's been a long 17 years. I've spent the last 7 years of my life fighting to survive. And now Voldemort's dead, and I can start to really live my life. I'm tired of the fighting, Ron, ok? I never wanted to be this person. This- this _hero,_ this _savior_ " he grimaced distastefully. "And now, I'm also a murderer. I didn't have a choice. It was thrust on me, just like Malfoy didn't have a choice."

"Didn't have a choice!? Of course he bloody had a choice! He didn't have to take the mark! He didn't have to stand by while Hermione was tortured! Or have you conveniently forgotten the fact that he was there while Hermione was TORTURED!" He raged.

"Of course I haven't bloody forgotten, don't be dense. I'm not saying that Malfoy and I are going to become best friends, or anything. All I'm saying is that he and I have more in common than I ever thought. And besides, is not doing something, like taking the mark, and dying for it really a choice? You know I saw in Voldemort's head Ron. You know that. Voldemort was threatening to kill his mum if he didn't take the mark and kill Dumbledore. So what kind of a choice is that? I don't have a mum, but If I did, I would do anything to save her too." He said back stonily. He was tired. Beyond exhausted. Hell, he had died and come back to life today. Didn't that deserve him a bit of a break?

Ginny and Hermione had been silent up to this point, but Ginny jumped up and rounded on her brother fiercely. "Shut up Ron! Haven't we all been through enough today? And you're going to stand there and argue about Malfoy of all people. Get over yourself!" With that, she turned to Harry, gave him a swift kiss, murmured good night, and stalked up the stairs to her dormitory.

Hermione also got up to follow her, giving Harry a tight hug before she walked past him. "I'm glad you didn't stay dead", she whispered in his ear.

He smiled back at her, hugging her back. After she had gone into her dormitory, the two men stared at each other awkwardly. Ron then approached Harry with a sheepish look on his face.

"Sorry, mate. I'm just- I'm just tired. And I'm definitely not used to you defending the git. But I can see what you mean. _Kind of_. Let's get some sleep, yeah? I'm beat. And dying and coming back to life's got to be a real bitch on you" He said, smiling.

Harry smiled back, glad for the normalcy once again between them. He clapped Ron on the shoulder and followed him to their dormitory.

As he undressed and climbed into bed, his mind raced with restlessness. He should've been thinking about the battle. Or the people they had lost, like Fred, Remus, and Tonks, among countless others. He should've been thinking about what he was going to do with his life now that his one purpose for the last 7 years was over. He should have been thinking about how now that it was all over, he and Ginny could be together again, with no barriers between them. But no. His mind was far away from Ginny and everything else. Except for a pair of intense gray eyes that he couldn't seem to get out of his head. Malfoy. Why was it that everything in his life always came back to Draco Malfoy? Sighing and closing his eyes, he tried to calm his racing thoughts, and drifted off into a fitful sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or the HP universe.

* * *

The next morning found Harry sprawled on his bed, sound asleep. He heard someone calling his name repeatedly, and after ignoring the incessant voice for several minutes, felt a pillow smack into the back of his sharply.

"Oi! Was that really necessary?" He yelled to whoever it was that was waking him up so rudely.

"Yes, it was really necessary," he heard Ginny say with a smile in her voice. He felt her climb into his bed and drape herself across his back, nuzzling his bare shoulder. "Come on, get up. Everyone's already up and downstairs in the great hall. They're waiting for you."

Harry was suddenly very aware of his state of dress. He had thrown on loose pajama bottoms that were riding very low on his hips, and he had kept his shirt off. He and Ginny had only dated for a few weeks before he had broken up with her before he, Ron and Hermione had left to search for horcruxes. During those few weeks, they hadn't had much alone time, with their busy school schedules and the constant worry over Voldemort. She had never even felt his bare chest before, so this was definitely new territory for them. He wasn't sure how he felt about it. He shifted so that she was lying next to him instead of on him, thankful that for once he hadn't woken up with morning wood, and peeked at her sheepishly.

"Good morning," she grinned at him, leaning in for a kiss. He kissed her quickly, cheeks flaming as red as Ginny's hair.

"Morning," he replied. He didn't want her to get in the habit of climbing into his bed. If Ron walked in right now, he would flay Harry alive. "Er, Gin, what are you doing? You know, in, uh, my bed," his voice took on an alarmingly high pitch towards the end of his sentence.

"Well, I'm waking you up. I thought that much would be obvious," she said, cheekily avoiding his reference to her being in his bed.

"Er, yeah. Just- I just don't, you know, want to go too fast ok? I mean, I'm back and all, but we've been apart for a long time. Let's just-you know, take it slow ok?" He stammered out.

Ginny furrowed her eyebrows at him, and a slight frown dusted her face. "okay, Harry. You still want to- be with me, don't you?" she asked.

"Of course, Ginny. Of course. Why would you even ask me that?"

"Well, I don't know. You don't seem all that eager to pick up where we left off," she murmured, avoiding his gaze.

Harry tilted her chin up to his face so that she was looking at him. He knew he wasn't like most boys his age. Most boys had a string of girlfriends and sexual conquests. He would have been happy to have had time for a normal, hormonal relationship with Ginny that it seemed she so desperately wanted. Hell, he would have been happy to even entertain the thought of her or sex like any other teenager. But he hadn't had time for such luxuries, and was still getting used to the new freedom in his life. Still, he didn't think he was the type to jump right into bed with Ginny. She had always instigated things between the two of them, which was fine with Harry. He was always unsure about what to do, and how to go about doing it. He knew she was more experienced than he was. Well, probably everyone their age was more experienced than he was. But even so, he was afraid of pushing her, or doing something that made her uncomfortable. Or maybe it was just that really, it was himself that was uncomfortable with being intimate. He didn't examine this too closely however, with her peering at him in confusion and apprehension. He knew he was awkward when it came to being intimate in any form. He assumed it was probably because he had never experienced any sort of intimacy before, or witnessed any healthy relationships growing up. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia hardly counted as relationship role models.

"Remember when we first got together Gin? It was the happiest I'd ever been. _You_ made me feel that. I may be a bumbling, awkward idiot when it comes to this stuff, but give me time? Please? You have to remember it's all new for me. Having time to actually be together, like a normal couple, that's new for me. And I'm still trying to get used to it. I want to be with you. I just- I need to go slowly," he finished with an embarrassed sort of smile at her.

She smiled back at him shyly and pecked his cheek. "I know, Harry. I'm sorry. Don't ever feel like you need to go faster or do more than you're ready for. We'll get there, in our own time. And I'll wait for you. I will always wait for you," she said, smiling at him softly. "Now get up and get dressed. I'll wait for you in the common room," she said, giving him the privacy he had asked for in a roundabout way. Just as she was walking away, Harry pulled on her hand, tugging her back to him. He kneeled on his bed, snaking an arm around her waist, kissing her slowly, chastely, before letting her go. "Thanks, Gin," he said.

* * *

After quickly showering yesterday's grime away, Harry met Ginny back in the common room where she was staring blankly out a window.

"How you doing Gin?" he asked quietly upon reaching her.

"I'm alright I guess. I don't know. I don't really know how I'm supposed to be feeling right now. My brother is dead, and so are so many other people, and I feel just- numb. Like it's all not real. But I know it is. And I'm also so happy because it's finally over, that maniac is _dead_. But such sadness and happiness don't mix well, do they? So yeah- I don't know how I am. I'm all mixed up." She rambled aimlessly.

"You know I'll be here for you," harry said to her sincerely. "I know what you mean. I think I'm still in shock or something. It all seems like a dream. Or a nightmare. But I can feel it, that he's gone. My head is clearer. Before, I was always aware of him, you know? And now, it's just me that I feel in my head. And my scar hasn't twinged at all. It's a nice feeling, I must say," he said.

Ginny shook herself out of her daze and gave him a small smile, grabbing his hand. As she led him out of the common room and towards the great hall where everyone else was gathered, she couldn't help but feel a slight disconnect from him. Yesterday when he had been talking about Narcissa and how she had lied to keep him alive, she had been shocked. Ron and Hermione knew, of course. He told them everything, and she assumed that after the three of them had snuck outside after the battle, he had told them in great detail what had happened to him when he went into the forest. She wasn't surprised that he hadn't told her the details, because he never told her that kind of stuff. But it still hurt, after all this time. She knew that it wasn't as if he had been able to send her owls while they were off doing whatever it was that they had to do. She wasn't unrealistic or stupid. But she could admit to herself that she was jealous of the bond the trio had. And being together for all those months alone together must have only strengthened those bonds. She had been hoping that now that he was back, he would seek to include her, as his girlfriend, and tell him all about what had happened to them. She didn't think that was too much to ask.

And another part of her was also extremely irritated. She had thought yesterday when the four of them went back to the common room that he would want her to stay with him. Even if he didn't want to do anything physical, which didn't surprise her really. The few weeks they had gone out had been wonderful, but she had been going out of her mind with want of him, and he didn't seem to get that hint, and she had never seemed to get him riled up enough to stop overthinking everything and just feel what his body was telling him to do. She had secretly wondered if she didn't do it for him-sexually. Her ex boyfriends never seemed to have an issue showing deep sexual interest in her, and had in fact pushed her to go faster than she was ready. She was still a virgin technically, but she was definitely experienced. So she had thought that he might have at least wanted her to stay with him, if only so that they could cuddle in bed and comfort each other. But apparently it hadn't even crossed his mind. He was too busy thinking about Malfoy, as usual.

She didn't know what it was between the two of them, but they were always so damn obsessed with each other, and she supposed she was a fool if just because the war was over, that the strange obsession would go away. She remembered when they had been dating how he would always spy and follow Malfoy around, convinced he was up to something, which they all now knew to be true, but still! He had always shown much more interest in knowing Malfoy's constant whereabouts than wanting to spend alone time with her. She tried not to read too much into it, but it was hard.

But despite the issues in their relationship -regardless of whether Harry was even aware of these issues or not- she was with the man she loved again, finally. She shoved it all to the back of her mind and prepared to again see the ruins of the castle around her.

* * *

As they walked down, Harry could tell that Ginny was thinking about something very hard. He knew that she wasn't happy with the non-progress they seemed to be making with each other. But he had only been back for a day, and he had been fighting, killed the greatest evil there had ever been, died, and come back to life. Didn't that tell her that he needed time and space to get his head together? He hadn't even planned on jumping back into his relationship if he was honest with himself. He needed to reacclimate to the real world, with people and normalcy before he could think about anything else. And he needed to sort through everything that had happened, and deal with his grief. He didn't have time to worry about her slight hints about wanting to jump his bones. He didn't understand how she could want to pick up right where they left off. They were different people. They may have spent a little less than a year apart, but a lot had happened, and that had to have an effect on a relationship. He was different. But he wasn't about to tell her that right now. She was sad, and had assumed that they were back together. He couldn't bear to bring her more grief at the moment and suggest that they remain friends for a while to relearn each other. He knew she wouldn't have taken that well at all. And an angry Ginny was a scary Ginny.

Walking into the great hall, he saw the destruction in the light of day. There was rubble everywhere and he didn't know how it would ever be put back to how it was before the final battle. Although, he supposed, you could do almost anything with magic. He saw everyone looking at him and ignored them, heading for the Weasley's who were back looking refreshed, though still incredibly sad and withdrawn from their usual rambunctious antics. But looking around, so did everyone else. As he sat down with Ginny and started to fill his plate with breakfast -God he was absolutely famished- he saw McGonagall draw everyone's attention to her.

"Everyone quiet down for a moment, please," she shouted sternly. Harry smiled. Some things never changed. "Those of you that are gathered have agreed to help re-ward the castle today and begin clean up in and around the castle. I thank you for your help, as it is a daunting and challenging task before us. Enjoy your breakfast, and come to me with any questions," she said. And then in a lower tone, Harry heard her call his name. "Potter? If I could have a word?"

He put his toast down looking at it forlornly, and got up to walk to her. As she drew him aside, he felt curiosity and a feeling of trepidation begin to creep into him. He had a feeling he knew what this was about.

"The aurors are here in my office, Potter. As are a swarm of reporters. I've managed to stall the reporters for a few hours, but the aurors need statements about, well, everything. And, I just thought I'd tell you that the aurors went to Malfoy Manor early this morning and have taken all three into custody for questioning and to await their trials for war crimes. I had a feeling you would want to know" she said.

"Thank you, professor. I'll just finish my breakfast and then go up to see them, shall I?" he said. And before she could walk away, he said "Professor, I would like to help them. With their trials. Narcissa and Draco. Do you think I'll be able to testify for them?" he had a slightly worried look on his face as if he thought she would say that it wouldn't be possible. It suddenly seemed very important that he help them. He knew no one else would.

"Yes, of course Harry. I would expect nothing less of you. That's why I told you. It seems they are moving quickly with the trials, especially the Malfoys. Seems they want to make an example out of them.

Harry nodded and returned to quickly finish his breakfast. He had things to do today, and unfortunately, sitting around with the Weasley's comforting each other wasn't on the agenda.

After finishing his breakfast in record time, he simply said "aurors" in explanation and darted off towards McGonagall's office, before Ginny could question him further. She huffed in irritation and glared at him as he rushed away.

* * *

Several hours later, Harry was finally finishing up giving his statements to the aurors about all of the death eaters involved and what he had witnessed. Just as they were all getting up to leave, Harry said "Professor McGonagall said that the Malfoys were being questioned at the Ministry? And I was wondering, I mean I was hoping- Er, I mean… I want to testify. I believe I have information that will impact the way that their trials go. So I want to testify. It's very important," he finished in a rush.

"Uh, of course. Whatever you want, Mr. Potter. You can accompany us to the ministry and we'll go from there" one of the aurors said. For once, Harry was glad of the pull he seemed to have over the wizarding world. He had figured he would have to fight to testify for the infamous family, that everyone would try their hardest to keep him away so that the Malfoys were almost guaranteed to rot away in Azkaban. Well he'd be damned if he let that happen.

As he followed the aurors outside and towards the gates so that they could apparate to the ministry, he couldn't help but feel anticipation at seeing the blonde again. He couldn't wait to wipe that smug, arrogant look off of his face. Malfoy would _hate_ that it was _Potter_ of all people who had to save him. The nerve! Harry grinned to himself at the thought.

Looking up, he swallowed as the ministry came into view. It looked as foreboding as ever, and he raised his chin in defiance at his own turmoil. Straightening up, he shook it off and walked into the building.

* * *

Reviews are much appreciated and help me update faster :)


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the HP universe. All that credit goes to the incredible JKR!

* * *

Harry was led into a waiting room at the ministry as he waited to speak to someone about the Malfoy's case. He nervously jiggled his legs back and forth, his anticipation growing. He hadn't told his friends or anyone at Hogwarts what he was doing, and he couldn't help thinking that Ron and Hermione would go ballistic when they found out.

Approaching footsteps made him stand on his feet, is hand unconsciously going to his wand to rest on the hilt. As the door creaked open, Harry gasped at what he saw.

Draco Malfoy stood before him, still dressed in the clothing that he had been wearing the day before, his hair mussed as if hands had been continuously run through it. He shot a surprised look at Harry.

"Potter?" he said in shock. "What the hell are _you_ doing here?"

"Well who else were you expecting to help your skinny ass get out of here? I don't think your _friends_ are in any position to be assisting you right now with this… situation you seem to find yourself in ", Harry finished nastily.

"Help me? What the bloody hell are you talking about? Why would you want to help me?" Malfoy demanded.

Harry ignored him in favor of looking to the two guards who were currently digging their wands into Malfoy's back in warning should he get any ideas to escape their imposing grips on his forearms. "Could we have some privacy please?" Harry questioned politely.

The two guards looked to each other uneasily. "Er, Mr. Potter, we're really not supposed to leave prisoners unattended" one of the guards said uncertainly.

"I understand that. And normally I would never ask for a slight bending of the rules. But if I could just have two minutes with Mr. Malfoy here, I would be forever grateful to you. It's very important that I speak to Malfoy" he explained, striving for an earnest expression on his face, ignoring the quizzical and suspicious look Malfoy was giving him.

"Of course! I mean, you're Harry Potter. If we can't do you a favor once and again, then I don't know what the world is coming to!" the smaller and more bashful of the two guards burst out suddenly. At this energetic statement, Harry saw Malfoy roll his eyes in an exaggerated fashion.

"Well, now that we've established that I deserve two single minutes of privacy with the Saint Potter!" Draco drawled. "Now could you get your bloody hands OFF of me?!" He said through clenched teeth, jerking his arms roughly from the guard's hands.

The guards let him go abruptly, telling Harry that they would be right outside the hallway and would be back in just a few minutes, and that he was to call if he needed help. Harry smirked at this. Him, need help with Malfoy? He had just defeated Voldemort for crying out loud, but yeah, ok. He nodded his thanks and watched as they left the room and closed the door behind him.

Both boys stared at each other in silence, neither willing to speak first. Finally Harry, sensing his precious few minutes dwindling away, spoke. "You're probably wondering what I'm doing here" he said somewhat redundantly. He knew Malfoy was floored to see him here. Malfoy's normally careful, bank face was creased in obvious confusion and suspicion.

"Gee Potter. Way to state the obvious. I thought you would've been busy being crowned king of the wizarding world or some shit by now. Are you here to get some more publicity? I can see the headlines now- 'Savior Potter Condemns Malfoy Family and Vows 'THE KISS' to All Known Death Eaters" Draco snarled crowding intimately close to Harry.

Harry shoved him away, snarling right back. "Just shut the hell up for once in your life, you fool!" he hissed tightly. "You think I want this? You think I want to be praised as a hero? For what? Killing people? For NOT dying when I was supposed to? For being the cause of countless innocent people's deaths? You don't know anything about me, or my life, so shut the fuck up!" he roared, his eyes darkening as he stared at Malfoy's surprised face.

He was about to continue when the door cracked open and one of the guards peeked their head in. "everything alright?" he asked.

"Yes, if we could just have a few more minutes. Almost done" Harry said tightly, not taking his eyes off of Malfoy for a second, who was equally staring back, at a loss for words. The guard nodded in apprehensive acceptance and closed the door again.

Harry sighed loudly, running a hand through his hair with a weary look on his face. "Look, just stop it alright? I didn't come here for this. I was told that you were being held here until the day of your trial, this Friday. I just wanted to tell you that I'll be testifying for you. For you and your mother" Harry said, darting his eyes away as he spoke. He felt those gray eyes boring into him as he spoke and felt his skin prickle and his skin warm with such an intense gaze.

After a pregnant pause in which Harry held his breath to see how Malfoy would react, Malfoy took a deep breath as if he had been sucker punched. "Why? Why would you do that for me? You hate me." He said in a strangled voice.

At hearing this, Harry looked again into those gray eyes that were still boring into him. After a beat in which Harry searched for words that would even begin to describe why he felt that he needed to do this, and why it wasn't even a choice for him, he finally whispered, "I don't hate you Malfoy. I never hated you".

Silence.

That was all he heard around him. He attempted to drag his eyes away from Malfoy's penetrative gaze and found that he couldn't. It felt like those eyes could see straight through his soul, and he was drowning, suffocating. Harry blinked stupidly at Malfoy, horrified at his thoughts. What the hell was he thinking? What was going on? Were those eyes closer to him suddenly? Had Malfoy moved closer to him?

Finally dragging his eyes away from Malfoy, he found the blonde boy much closer to him than he was before, searching his face for what, Harry didn't know.

* * *

Malfoy reached forward slowly, his hand seemingly moving forward on its own, as if in a trance. He couldn't control himself, he didn't know what was happening to him. Breathing shallowly, and struggling for the breaths that escaped him in soft gasps, he watched his hand as it ghosted over Potter's soft, warm cheek. This was _Potter_ , his mind tried to scream at him. But it was a moot point. His mind and his hand were on opposite ends of the spectrum, with different minds guiding them it seemed. As his palm settled over Potter's cheek, curling his fingers behind his ear, Potter startled, his eyes going wide, his mouth in an amusing 'Oh' shape. Malfoy would have mocked him if he wasn't afraid that the same expression wasn't mirrored on his own face. It was with an unknown force that Malfoy drew closer to the boy in front of him, sliding his hand into that hair that was shockingly silky and knotting his fingers in it to tug the frozen brunet closer to him.

"Malfoy, I don't- ", Harry wasn't sure what he was going to say, and could only be glad when Malfoy cut him off harshly.

"Shut up," Malfoy said in a voice completely unlike his own, all breathy and garbled. "Just… I- "

And then he had pressed his lips to Harry's, and it was bliss.

Harry let out a muffled squeak and stiffened under his lips. Malfoy brought his other hand up to grip Harry's shoulder, should he attempt to pull away. He held his lips there passively, waiting for a reaction. A punch, a press of lips back against his own, he would take whatever at this point. He stared into those brilliant green eyes that were blown wide open in shock, staring right back into his hazy gray eyes that had darkened considerably and had lost the cold sharpness. Draco gripped Harry's hair tighter and tugged lightly on it, willing a response from the frozen boy in front of him. And that was all it took.

Harry's eyes fluttered closed and he groaned lowly into Malfoy's mouth. Clawing his hands into Malfoy's hair and robes, Harry took in a shuddering breath and kissed back for all he was worth.

He pressed his body intimately close to the blondes, and was equally pushed back, the chair that he had been sitting in digging into is thigh painfully. But Harry didn't care. He didn't care about anything except for the feel of those silky lips on his own, and the hands that were running through his hair and angling his head sharply to the side for a better angle. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think, but he didn't care. He didn't seem to be able to pull himself away, couldn't stop kissing him.

Harry heard a moan and didn't know if it was him or Malfoy, or both. His skin where Malfoy touched him was on fire, and he was burning alive. Silky lips slid against his own roughly, desperately, and it was all Harry could do while he clutched at Malfoy's shoulders to not collapse onto his wobbly knees. He felt Malfoy's lips trying to pry open his lips to battle with his tongue, and was just opening his mouth to eagerly push back, when he heard the door open.

* * *

Harry jumped back as if he had been struck by lightning. Looking at the door, he saw the guards looking sideways down the hallway, apparently distracted as they listened and responded quickly to someone out of Harry's line of site. Stumbling back from Malfoy quickly so to put some much needed distance between them before the guards turned back around, Harry stared in horror at Malfoy, who was doing the same. Both boys were breathing heavily and flushed. They both jumped noticeably as the guards turned and spoke to them.

Harry turned away from Malfoy and faced the guards, fighting to calm down and throw a mask hastily over his face. He hoped he didn't look as thoroughly snogged as he felt right now. Taking a small breath and gathering his scattered wits about him he said "I'm sorry, what?"

The guards were looking at him strangely, darting glances to Malfoy who had lost his flush to be quickly replaced with a new level of pale that made him look as if he was about to faint.

"Er- everything alright?" one of the guards asked uncertainly.

"Yes!" Harry nearly shouted, while trying to subtly edge closer to the door so he could flee. Blushing even harder, he fumbled for words. "We're done here, I was just leaving," He said, desperate to get away as he again felt those intense eyes burning him up again.

"Um, if you're sure… "the guard said in a suspicious voice.

Harry nodded his head emphatically. "I'm sure."

As he attempted to walk somewhat calmly to the door, he was just about to pass the threshold when a voice stopped him cold in his tracks.

"Potter" Malfoy said in a low voice.

Turning slowly with a look of dread on his face, Harry faced Malfoy.

"Malfoy", he replied in an equally low voice as he tried and failed to appear nonchalant, not sure what the blonde was going to reveal in front of their curious chaperones.

"… See you at the trial" Malfoy replied with a searching look, his eyes lidded and dark.

Harry swallowed and nodded to him, not trusting himself to say anything else. With a last look at Malfoy, he mumbled a 'thanks again' to the guards and left the ministry as quickly as he could without appearing overly suspicious.

* * *

If you're enjoying this story or have any questions/suggestions, please let me know in a review!


	4. Chapter 4

Harry stepped out of the building and squinted into the bright sunlight. Breathing in the fresh air almost manically, he tried to calm his furiously beating heart. Leaning against the outside of the building, he closed his eyes and looked skyward, willing his racing thoughts too quiet for just a minute so he could think clearly. He ran through his hands through his unkempt hair, made more unkempt than usual by Malfoy's wandering hands. _No,_ he internally shouted at himself! He would not think these thoughts. He couldn't _afford_ to think about it right now. He would have a mental break down if he started down that road at the moment.

He was rudely shaken -and somewhat gladly- from his unwanted thoughts by a sudden flurry of activity and bright flashes before his eyes. Sighing and bracing himself for what he knew he would find, he opened his eyes and faced the rowdy crowd in front of him.

"Harry! Over here, Harry!" a reporter shouted to him, waving his arms wildly and looking quite foolish in Harry's opinion.

"Our Savior! Our hero!" A woman wildly yelled at him.

Harry groaned and glared at them all. This was ridiculous. He was no hero; of that he was damn sure. He should have just apparated as soon as he had walked out of the building, but he had needed to take a breather in the fresh air. He now regretted that decision. He was regretting a whole hell of a lot at the moment.

He roughly shoved past the reporters who were screaming in his face and clamoring to get as close as possible. Rita Skeeter suddenly popped into a small space that he had appeared, and he came to an abrupt halt. He was in no mood for the vile woman.

"Mr. Potter!" She exclaimed, acting as if she were shocked to find him there. He knew better. Sneering at her, he watched as she looked him head to toe in a leering way that he didn't like at all.

"My, my! You're certainly looking… disheveled, aren't you? Did you have pressing… business at the ministry this afternoon that's made you so flushed? Or are you just exceedingly pleased to see me?" She asked with a coy look.

Harry could feel the flush on his face that he had finally felt slowly started to recede before the reporters had shown up return with a vengeance. He realized suddenly that the group surrounding them had gone deadly quiet and were listening to every word that was being said. He stared stonily at her, ignoring his heated face, and attempted to shift to the side to brush past her.

Apparently, she was having none of that. She latched onto his arm and pulled him back with a sickly sweet smile.

"Get the _hell_ off of me!" Harry seethed through clenched teeth, too low for the dozens of cameras to pick up.

Rita chose to ignore him and instead said, "Mr. Potter, I was wondering what you were doing at the ministry? I would have thought that you'd be resting today after your _heroics_ yesterday. The morning post reported that the Malfoy's were being detained here until their trials could begin. And a source of mine has informed me that you were requesting time with the youngest Malfoy this afternoon. Which is so strange considering it's a known fact that he's your sworn enemy and all….." She trailed off, hoping to raise a reaction out of him. He glanced down and saw her quick-quotes quill busily scratching away on a floating pad of paper, and saw red.

"What I do in my personal time is none of ANY of your damn business!" He growled to the gathering crowd. His patience was at an end, and he was overwhelmed with everything that had taken place since the beginning of the battle.

Roughly shoving her aside, no longer caring that there were reporters watching his every move, he barreled his way through them all and as soon as he was clear, he swiftly turned on the spot, and apparated to the edge of Hogwarts newly configured wards.

* * *

Harry slinked away from the great hall, grateful that no one saw him returning. He was in no mood to talk to anyone and answer their questions as to what the aurors had wanted and why he had been gone so long. It was now 4:00 in the afternoon, and he just knew that while Hermione and Ron would have been too busy with repairing the castle and wrapped up in each other, Ginny would be steaming mad over not knowing where he had been all day. He couldn't help that. He just needed space. Besides, they would know all about where he had been when they all received tomorrow morning's daily prophet. He groaned at the thought.

He walked quickly through the common room and to the boy's dormitory. When he got to his bed, he dropped down onto it and promptly pulled his curtains closed, muttering a privacy spell. He needed time to think about what the hell had just happened. He was tempted to go to Madam Pomfrey to get checked out… there must be something wrong with him. He laid down and squeezed his palms against his closed eyes, letting out a long sigh.

He tried to forget how Malfoy's lips had felt against his own, how his hands gripped Harry's hair and shoulders. He had never felt anything like it. When he had first started dating Ginny, he remembered feeling so happy, so content. But they had been together for such a short time, and then he had gone off to hunt horcruxes, and while he had missed her dearly, he hadn't really thought about her in a romantic way- not really. He didn't remember having any sexual dreams or fantasies that he had played in his head as they had passed the long, cold days in the tent. He remembered feeling worried for her safety. Maybe he had been so happy with her in the beginning because he had finally had something that was reciprocated; with Cho, it was always such a mess. And he knew Ginny wanted him, had always wanted him. Being with Ginny was easy, comfortable. Aside from worrying about Ron's reaction to his feelings in the beginning of their relationship, they had slipped into being more than friends without so much as a blink. Their kisses were soft and sweet. The few times it had even gotten semi-heated, Harry couldn't remember Ginny being able to make him feel even a tenth of the feelings that Malfoy had been able to arouse in him.

The feelings he had felt were… unexpected, to say the least. He had gotten the feeling he got when he was walking down the stairs and he accidentally missed a step, that low swoop in his stomach; the same feeling when he was on a broomstick and he was feinting at such a steep angle that pulling up made his body tingle with thrill. And that feeling had continued from the second that Malfoy had dared to put his hand on Harry's cheek. He had never felt more alive, and the fact that it was Malfoy that seemed to always make him feel so alive, whether they were fighting or, apparently kissing passionately, was a terrifying thought. Harry reflected on that thought. He didn't know how he hadn't seen it before. How long had his drama-filled life revolved around the blonde? Aside from Voldemort, Malfoy was the only other person who dared to confront Harry, to question him and push him and make him react in ways he had never thought possible. Hell, even when he had nearly killed him in 6th year, the encounter had been full of their intense feelings for one another. Ginny could never make him feel like that! He didn't want to simply float through life because it was comfortable. Ginny was safe, and what was ordinary and expected. Well, he was Harry Potter. When had he ever been ordinary and safe? Of course he would gravitate towards the most inappropriate person possible.

And not only that, but Malfoy was a _male. A man_! Since when was he attracted to men before? He never had been. He couldn't remember ever looking or having dreams or anything that could even hint to him subconsciously that that was where his preferences really lay. But Harry didn't think that this was accurate at all. He wasn't attracted to men. No. He was attracted to _Malfoy._ A solitary occurrence. He couldn't imagine thinking about Dean or Seamus kissing him. The mere thought put a disgusted scowl on his face, and they were relatively attractive according to Hermione and Ginny. But the thought of finding either of his fellow Gryffindor's attractive made him nauseated to think about. No. It was just a certain blonde that got his heart racing.

It was as if a veil had been lifted over Harry's eyes, and he was seeing everything clearly for the first time in his life. He hadn't felt this way since Hagrid had come into his life in a whirlwind and told him he was a wizard and took him to Hogsmeade for the first time ever. And he could admit it to himself now. He was desperately attracted to Draco Malfoy and the feelings that the boy could stir in him. Perhaps if Malfoy had never kissed him, Harry never would have realized it and would have gone on with Ginny, content and feeling a dull kind of happiness that was without passion and intensity.

Of course, while these thoughts were racing through Harry's head, he was anything but calm. Just because he could admit it to himself, the very idea was still frightening to him. His whole world had changed with one kiss. Because that's what it had been, in reality. It wasn't like they had been standing there making out for twenty minutes. They had kissed for less than a minute before the guards had come back into the room. It had just been _that intense._

And what was he supposed to do now? He groaned, thinking about how he was supposed to act tomorrow. There was no way he was leaving his dormitory. He'd skip dinner tonight. There was no way that he could face everyone, especially Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. They would see something in his face. He was usually pretty good at hidings things; he had had to be with keeping so many secrets about Voldemort's horcruxes. He also tended to be a very private person, with all his unwanted fame, so he had gotten very good at hiding his emotions from people; god knew what stories the daily prophet would have come up with in the past if he wore his heart on his sleeve all the time. But he was still too worked up from the day that he'd had. He needed more time to fix his mask into place. To pretend that nothing had changed. That he had not changed.

He had no idea what he was going to say to Ginny. He knew there was no way that he could stay with her. He would feel like he was using her, and he definitely wasn't that kind guy. But he decided to leave that issue alone for the rest of the night. He'd deal with that tomorrow.

Suddenly, he wondered what Malfoy was thinking right at that very moment. Was he alright? Was he thinking about Harry, about their kiss? Was he freaking out too? It hadn't seemed like a planned thing to Harry, and he doubted that Malfoy had been pining away for him for 7 years, so the blonde must be feeling at least a fraction of what Harry was.

Harry forcibly pushed his thoughts away and focused on his breathing. He had been secretly practicing on meditation, to help him actually learn occlumency in the future. He knew he could do it. He just had to try harder, and maybe have a teacher who didn't despise him.

Breathing out slowly, he felt his mind and breathing calm more easily than he would've thought possible. Perhaps he was improving. He thought of clearing his mind, and dealing with tomorrow when it came.

Hours later, as he distantly heard his bunk mates sleepily climb into their beds after calling his name, he had one more fleeting thought of sharp gray eyes staring into his own, and promptly fell into a blissfully deep sleep.

* * *

Draco lay on his hard cot that they deemed to call a 'bed' determinedly _not_ thinking about _Harry Potter_. Or the fact that he, Draco Malfoy, had kissed him. Quite passionately too. No. He wasn't thinking about these things. Because it simply wasn't possible. He couldn't have instigated that… that… whatever that had been. That _moment_ that they had shared.

But it _was_ possible, it seemed. Because it had happened. And he had started it. He didn't know what had come over him. But Potter had been looking at him with such a desperate, earnest look on his face, and it had been his undoing. Apparently. Draco felt his face heating up at just thinking about the look on Potter's face again. He had never seen that look on his face before, especially not directed at him. He was used to seeing sneers, that undoubtedly matched his own face, and looks of disgust and anger on Potter's face whenever it was directed at himself.

It had caught Draco so off guard that he had lost his head. And he had felt so drawn to Potter, had felt such a thrill the closer he crept towards him, that he couldn't stop himself from going that forbidden step forward and actually _touching_ Potter.

When he had laid his hand on his cheek and curled it behind his ear, he had felt fire erupt in veins and spread like friendfyre throughout his body, uncontrollable and deadly. And he had wanted more. And more he took, by sliding his fingers through those silky locks of raven hair. How dare he have such deceivingly soft hair?! It wasn't fair. Of course Draco's own hair was baby soft as well, but, well, he was a Malfoy! It was expected!

And before he had known it, he'd been gripping Potter's hair and tugging him forward slightly so that he could press their lips together. As he pictured it in his mind, he remembered the look on Potter's face as he had frozen in shock, his eyes going impossibly wide as they stared at Draco. And he also remembered how it had felt when he had given in and kissed Draco back.

Draco's fingers clenched unconsciously on the threadbare blanket that the ministry provided all of their prisoners with, as if they were clenching in Potter's hair again. He was glad yet again that he had a cell to himself. His parents were sharing one next to him, but the side walls were solid, with only the walls facing out being open with bars and a heavy door. So he had relative privacy. He would have been absolutely mortified- more than he already was- if he had had to come back directly after his meeting with his 'visitor' to come back to his mother and father. They would've been able to see in an instant that something had occurred, and would have been asking him all sorts of questions. Well, his father would actually have just tried legilimens right away, but Draco was just as good as his father was at blocking his most private thoughts. There was no way either one of them would be still alive right now if not for that fact; Voldemort would have had them killed years ago, when he had first started using Malfoy Manor as his home base. Draco shivered at the thought of the Dark Lord.

He unclenched his fingers from the blanket and sighed lowly. He rolled over and ignored his arousal. There was no way he was going to take care of that with his parents 10 feet from him, and worst of all, when he was thinking about Potter.

He tried his best to push the thoughts of his enemy responding to Draco's kiss with that low moan that he had given, but it wouldn't go away no matter what he did. After a minute of trying and failing, Draco sighed and gave into the images that assaulted him.

Potter moaning and sinking into the kiss, gripping Draco's hair and shoulders, giving everything back that Draco gave him. He wasn't some submissive little thing, that was for sure. Not that Draco was surprised. Potter was strong and commanding. Well, Draco wasn't some pushover submissive either; he wondered how that would play out the next time the two managed to find themselves in a similar situation.

Gasping loudly in horror at his thoughts, Draco sat up sharply. Freezing for a minute to make sure that no one had heard his abrupt outburst, he attempted to calm his frantically beating heart. What was he thinking? He wasn't going to let that happen again, damnit! He wasn't… _attracted_ … to Potter. He wasn't! He refused to be.

He laid back down slowly and shut his eyes, determined to shut off his mind and go to sleep. But as he tried to clear his mind like he usually did before going to bed, a tactic that Snape had taught him when teaching him occlumency, his nagging thoughts crept back once more. Perhaps he shouldn't have to think so hard about _not_ thinking about Potter. Perhaps there was a reason that he hadn't been able to control himself when they had drawn closer. Perhaps, just maybe, just _MAYBE_ , he _did_ feel something for Potter. And perhaps that was why he got such a warm feeling that spread throughout his whole body whenever he thought about their kiss that had been so passionate, so intense. More intense than anything Draco had ever felt before. Certainly the kisses that Pansy had sloppily given him didn't even pale in comparison to the single kiss that he had shared with Potter.

And Draco wasn't sure how to feel about that. Terrified. Absolutely terrified. That was what he was feeling. But underneath that pulsating fear, was a sense of hesitant, curious joy and wonder. Beautiful, terrifying, wonder.

* * *

A/N: This is my longest chapter yet! I'm trying to update somewhat regularly, at least once a week. Please review and let me know what you think so far, or if you have any ideas or questions!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I know it's been kinda slow going, but I intend for this to be a pretty lengthy story… trying to stay in character as much as possible.

* * *

Harry woke with a low groan, fighting to stay blissfully unaware in his empty dream world for a little bit longer. It didn't work. He sighed and resigned himself to a new day. And then he thought of the article that was sure to come out and groaned louder. That was the last thing he wanted to deal with right now.

Harry took another moment to gather himself before he sat up and quietly opened his drapes. He gathered some clean clothes and his toiletries, before tip toeing to the bathroom to shower before making his way to the common room. It was still extremely early, and he hoped he could slip out of the castle before he had to face Ginny or his friends. One could hope.

* * *

Harry dragged his hands through his still damp hair as he crept down the dormitory stairs. Crossing his fingers, he walked swiftly through the room with his eyes straight ahead, not daring to look around for fear of catching someone's eye.

He breathed a sigh of relief as the portrait swung open and he stepped through. He was halfway down the hallway when he heard it bang open behind him and he cringed, knowing what was coming.

"Harry!" He heard Ginny cry behind him in a stuttering voice. She was clearly running after him. "Harry, wait up!"

He slowly turned and faced her. He wasn't ready for this. As she caught up to him, he smiled awkwardly at her. "Hey, Gin. You're up early."

She gave him a strange look before answering. "Well, yeah. I was hoping to catch you before you snuck off again," she said with slightly narrowed eyes.

Harry shifted on his feet nervously, looking anywhere but at the angry redhead in front of him.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I know I kind of disappeared yesterday. The aurors wanted to speak with me and it took a lot longer than I thought for them to take all of my statements. They wanted to be thurough, you know?"

He should've known she wouldn't buy his flimsy excuse.

"Harry Potter! Don't you lie to me! I know when you're lying you know. You get all- all shifty eyed!" She all but shouted at him.

He winced. He didn't have the heart to tell her that he was actually quite good at lying when he wanted to be; he only got shifty eyed when she was glaring at him. He hated being on Ginny's bad side. It never ended well for him.

"Er, I'm not lying Ginny. I really was with the aurors yesterday. They want to begin the trials right away. As soon as next week, and they need my testimony for the deposition. It took hours. And then afterwards, I went to the ministry. I spoke with Malfoy. I'm going to be speaking for he and his mother at their trials next week," he said slowly.

"You're what?! Why would you do that? It's Malfoy, Harry! Mal-foy! And his mother too! And why did you feel the need to hide that from me? Why are you always hiding things from me?"

Harry couldn't hold in his sigh. He was starting to get irritated by the whiny tone that Ginny's voice had taken on. "I'm not keeping it from you, Ginny. I just told you, didn't I? And you know Malfoy's mum saved me, when she said that I was dead. And Malfoy, I don't know. He doesn't deserve Azkaban. He's different." He explained in exasperation. It was too early for this. He just wanted to sit by the black lake and watch as the giant squid lazily peeked out at him while trying to splash him. And he wanted to do this _alone._

"Oh, well of _course!_ Of _course he's different._ He's _Malfoy_ after all. I mean, god! What is it with you two!"

Harry stared at her with his mouth gaping open stupidly. Did she see something between the two of them that Harry hadn't been aware of until just the other day when Malfoy had kissed him? He frowned, and shook his head slightly. What was he thinking? Of course not. There was nothing to notice. At least, there hadn't been until now. He took small comfort in that fact. At least _something_ in his life was still private.

Upon realizing that he still hadn't said anything, he shook his head at her again. "Look, Ginny. I just- "he stopped. He knew he had to say it. But he didn't know how. And he didn't want to hurt her. He looked at her with a hard determined look, and he saw the recognition in her eyes. She knew what he was going to say. "I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry. I just, I don't know. Too much has happened. I can't just jump right back into this with you. I'm really sorry. But we spent almost a year apart, and then just started back up like no time had passed. But I've been through a lot. Too much, and I know you have too. We just, we don't even really know each other anymore. And I just need time and space. Can you understand that?" he asked in a soft, pleading voice, hating himself as Ginny fought down her tears stubbornly. He had always loved that about her.

"You're breaking up with me? What do you mean?" she said in a frantic rush. "Harry, of course we know each other. I've known you since I was ten years old! I've loved you since I was ten years old!"

"Ginny, you can't love someone when you've just met them. And you didn't really know me. You idolized me. Because I was famous. I'm sorry if that hurts to hear, but we didn't really get to know each other till my 6th year…"

"You don't love me," she whispered, eyes going wide. "Oh my god, you really don't, at all. All this time, I thought we were on the same page, I've been waiting for you. I thought you would come back, and we'd be together and get married and have a family." She stared at him, waiting for him to refute what she was saying, that of course he loved her and wanted that happily ever after with her.

"I just can't do that, Ginny. That's not what I want, especially right now. I'm only seventeen Ginny, and you're only 16-"

"You'll be 18 in a few months!" she cut him off fiercely.

He hung his head and sighed. She clearly wasn't getting it. He would have to spell it out for her.

"Ginny, I'm sorry, I really am. But no. I don't love you. I care about you greatly, just like I care about Hermione. But I can't love you. I just need to be alone right now. I need to sort myself out. I'm finally free. Voldemort is dead. I don't have a madman hanging over my head any more, or his voice in my head anymore. I just want to live my life. I never got the chance to do normal things, and, honestly, I don't want to be tied down right now. I do want a family, of course I do. But not right now. I just, I just want to live. I need to find out who I am. Because I'm not the person you all think I am. I'm no hero. I'm no savior. That was a role I had to play. I had no choice. I mean, there was a freaking Prophecy about it! So now, I just want to figure out what the hell I want to do with my life. And I need to figure that out alone." He looked at her with clear eyes, hoping she understood him.

She just looked back, a sad, resigned expression on her face. "well, I don't really know what to say, Harry. I can't honestly say I'm too surprised. I knew you were too good to be true. And I've felt it the last few days. You've been withdrawing from me, been hiding and trying to get away from me. And I'm sorry if it seemed like I've been pushing myself onto you. I just didn't want to lose you. Stupid, huh?" She said, somewhat tearfully. She gave him a lopsided grin, lunged forward and kissed him swiftly on the cheek before drawing away and turning quickly. Harry watched as she rushed off. He closed his eyes and rubbed his hands over his face, already bone tired. God, and he had only been awake for less than an hour! He made his way to the lake to think in silence, happily brooding in his solitude.

* * *

A few hours later, Harry's stomach gurgled loudly, and he couldn't ignore his own hunger any more. He had waited as long as possible. He was sure that the whole Weasley clan knew about his break up with Ginny, and wasn't looking forward to having to deal with it.

As he walked into the great hall, lunch was just starting, and the Weasley's were all sitting there talking quietly. As he neared them nervously, they quieted down, staring at him. He glanced over at Ginny, who had her head down, picking at her food.

Harry edged towards Hermione, who was on Ron's side. Hermione looked up at him and smiled softly, patting the seat next to him. He sat down gingerly, and this seemed to break the tension. All at once, they started talking again like nothing was amiss.

"Harry, dear, here, have some pot roast! You're looking way too thin, all three of you do!" Mrs. Weasley said brightly, shoving food under his nose so quickly that he didn't have time to answer her. Instead, he grinned at her, glad that she wasn't angry with him, and held his plate out so that she could dote and fuss with him as she loved to do.

He ate his food surrounded by his surrogate family and sank into the familiarity and warmth. He should have known that they wouldn't hold it against him that he and Ginny had broken up. They knew what he had been through, in theory. He knew Ron had told his family a little bit about their time abroad.

As he was nearing the end of the meal, he was just reaching for his favorite treacle tart when the talk turned to the death eater trials. He groaned inwardly.

"… And that bastard Lucius Malfoy will surely get put away for life! Him and his death eater son!" he heard Ron saying on the other side of Hermione, shooting Harry a defiant look. Clearly, they had seen the article. Hermione nudged Harry and passed him a folded up Daily Prophet discreetly. He ignored the family's heated talk and instead focused on the front page which held a large picture of him looking quite flushed and looking like he was about to pull his wand on Rita Skeeter. He glanced at the title, 'Savior Secretly Helping to Lock Away Known Death Eater Malfoy Family, Has Secret Meeting with Youngest Malfoy!'. Harry crumpled the paper up without reading it. It didn't even make sense. Why would he have a 'secret meeting' with Malfoy just to lock up his family? The woman was an idiot. Oh well. As long as she had only gotten a picture of that and…nothing else that had occurred at the ministry, that was fine with him. He continued to ignore the talk around him, and instead zoned out. He was thinking about how it would be to see the blonde boy in question in less than a week, back at the ministry at his trial. His palms started to sweat just thinking about it, and he again practiced clearing his mind until he was alone and could further think about his approach.

* * *

AN: Please, please, PLEASE let me know how you're liking the story, I love to read reviews and suggestions! They are the fuel that feed my words!

Coming up next: The trial!


	6. Chapter 6

The past week had gone by quickly, and Harry had kept himself busy by helping with the repairs. McGonagall had told them that morning that she would be sending everyone home for the summer. They had all protested loudly, seeing as how there was so much work to do but McGonagall had been adamant, stating that they all deserved a break and the work on the castle would slowly be completed by the staff throughout the summer break, which would be even longer than usual, since the final battle had taken place several weeks before the end of term.

So Friday morning, the morning of the trials, found Harry bouncing his leg nervously, glancing aimlessly around the empty hallway wondering when they would call him into the courtroom to testify. He had been waiting for 45 minutes, and assumed that he would be the last person to speak at Narcissa's trial before a judgement was made. It was the same spot that he had waited when he'd had to go in front of the wizengamot for performing underage magic in his 5th year. A strange sense of déjà vu hit him suddenly and he leaned forward, feeling like he was going to vomit the measly breakfast that Mrs. Weasley had forced down his throat that morning.

He had woken early, and had taken care when showering and dressing that morning. He thought he had done a pretty good job of taming his wild hair, and he had picked his emerald green robes that he had gotten as a gift from Hermione that year. They were charmed to grow with him, and they were tailor fit to him at all times. When he had gone down to the great hall that morning, he had gotten wolf whistles from the Weasley clan, earning an eye roll from Ginny. He tried telling himself that he had only paid attention to his appearance because of the wizengamot; the last thing he wanted was to appear unprofessional and disrespectful.

He thought he had semi succeeded in convincing himself it had nothing to do with Malfoy when the door to his right opened slowly. Panicking, Harry shot up and smoothed his robes down. He knew he wouldn't have to see Malfoy yet; Narcissa's trial was first. But still, that didn't mean the start of her trial was any less daunting. This was completely unlike the last time he had been here for his own trial. Before, he had only been responsible for himself, and he'd had Dumbledore standing up for him. Now, though, what he said today in both trials could and most likely _would_ affect the outcome of the trial. He was the boy who lived, the savior of the wizarding world. He wasn't stupid; he knew his word and opinion had weight in the wizarding community, even with the snooty, uptight wizengamot. His words alone could and probably would affect two people's lives immensely. He would most likely be the deciding factor over whether they got Azkaban, a dementor's kiss, or freedom. That was a lot of pressure, and he didn't take it lightly.

The person at the door raised their eyes at him and gave an impatient noise. Harry closed his eyes and breathed out in a controlled slow breath. He nodded and walked forwards, head bent low as he walked into the chattering court room. As he took a few steps into the vast room, he heard gasps and shocked exclamations from around him. He raised his head and slowly glanced around. Apparently the wizengamot, spectators, and press hadn't been informed that he would be testifying at Mrs. Malfoy's trial. As he scanned the room, he met the shocked eyes of the woman in question. Apparently Malfoy hadn't bothered to tell his parents either.

He looked away and continued forward to the seat that was being indicated by the person by his side, who looked to be some sort of guard. He sat down and looked for the person who would be questioning him. He was surprised to see Kingsley Shacklebolt there, waiting behind a podium a short distance from Harry, apparently waiting for a sign from Harry that he was ready to begin testifying and answering Shacklebolt questions. Harry nodded his head to Shacklebolt and offered him a small smile. He liked the man, and thought he would make a decent, fair minister of magic.

Shacklebolt cleared his throat and addressed the wizengamot. "Ladies and gentleman, we have only one witness to testify to the actions of Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy regarding the actions that she took during the 2nd wizarding war. Please allow me to introduce Harry James Potter." He indicated towards Harry and then turned towards him.

"Harry, please, would you tell us what you witnessed regarding Mrs. Malfoy and the war?" Kingsley asked Harry in a kind voice.

Harry nodded, and replied. "Yes, of course. The day of the final battle, Narcissa Malfoy saved my life. Voldemort had cast the killing curse at me in the forbidden forest, and I was lying on the ground, faced away from everyone. Voldemort told Narcissa to go check to make sure I was dead, and she did. When she got close to me, she knelt down, and saw that I was breathing. She whispered and asked me if Draco, her son, was alive, I nodded. She then raised her voice, and told Voldemort that I was dead. I was then carried to the courtyard outside the castle where everyone else was by Rubeus Hagrid, where I was able to jump from his arms and kill Voldemort. Without Narcissa lying for me, I would have been dead, and Voldemort would still be alive, ruling the wizarding world. I was the only one who could kill him. And she helped me do that." Harry finished, looking at Narcissa as he finished with gratitude.

"So she lied for you after receiving confirmation that her son was still alive?" Kingsley confirmed.

Harry nodded again. "Yes. She wanted to make sure that he was safe".

Shacklebolt nodded. "Is there anything else you wish to say regarding Mrs. Malfoy, Harry?"

"Just that I think that she was only acting out of protection for her family. Her son." Harry said quietly. It was what he truly believed.

Shacklebolt smiled at Harry discreetly and addressed the court once more as Harry was led out of the chair and to a seat with the rest of the spectators. Apparently, he would be allowed to stay for the verdict.

"You have now heard the testimony of Harry Potter, regarding Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy. This concludes the trial, and we will now let the wizengamot exit the courtroom to deliberate the judgement." With that statement, the wizengamot exited the courtroom quickly, silently.

Harry sat and tried to ignore the stares and whispers of those around him, and the occasional flash as the press took countless close up photos of him. Why the ministry allowed cameras in the court rooms Harry would never know.

* * *

What seemed to be a half hour later, the wizengamot slowly filed back to their seats. Harry didn't know how long it usually took for a decision to be made, but it seemed to him awfully quick. He didn't know if that bode well or not for Mrs. Malfoy.

Everyone quieted down as a member of the wizengamot who sat near the front cleared her throat, standing up and holding a piece of parchment before her. "We the people of the wizengamot do hereby find Narcissa Malfoy not guilty of war crimes." She was cut off as cries of disbelief rang around the courtroom, and Harry looked immediately towards Mrs. Malfoy to see her reaction. She looked shocked as well as the verdict came through, and stared around wide eyed, as if waiting to be told that this was all a joke.

The reader of the verdict stamped her foot and exclaimed loudly. Clearly, she wasn't done. It quieted down again, and she continued. "However! We cannot condone the actions that she took, no matter what reasoning she had behind her actions. Therefore, as a punishment, for we cannot let this go unpunished, we sentence her to three years' probation, which will entail house arrest, monthly home inspections, and a strict restriction on magic that can be performed with her wand. We feel that these measures will sufficiently suffice as a punishment." She finished, nodded her head in a satisfied manner, and sat primly.

Again, the courtroom buzzed in excitement. They couldn't believe that she had gotten off so easy, and wondered if this set a dangerous precedent for the rest of the Death eaters. She wasn't a death eater, and was simply the wife of one, but still. She had known and been party to her husband's wrongdoings. Many looked to Harry and shot him angry looks. Harry ignored them and watched as Narcissa was led away with two guards. They led her away, where Harry could only assume was to escort her back home. He doubted that she would be allowed to stay and witness her son's trial that was coming up next. After all, she wasn't free. For three years, she would be confined to her house. Harry didn't think this was an unfair punishment. She had, after all, gone along with Voldemort's plan, and besides. Malfoy Manor was an absolute mansion! Harry had only been there once, and had been locked in the dungeons for most of his time there, but from what he had seen of it, he knew it was massive. It wasn't like she would be claustrophobic there. He was pleased with the outcome, and glad that he had probably helped keep her out of Azkaban.

Harry glanced around after she had been led away, surprised to see that almost everyone was still there. He supposed he shouldn't be too surprised. If these people wanted to see Narcissa Malfoy put away, of course they would stay to see her son sent to Azkaban. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was very close to the time that Malfoy's trial should be starting. He didn't know if he was supposed to go back out into the hallway to wait as he had been instructed to do with the Narcissa's trial, or if he was supposed to stay in his seat. As the minutes ticked by, he decided to stay where he was. He wanted to hear the whole trial anyway.

He glanced at his watch again, seeing that it was past 11 in the morning; the trial was running late. Harry smoothed his clothes again, and tried to relax his posture so it looked more natural. He hadn't noticed himself tensing up, and had to force his body to soften.

He straightened back up when he heard the sound of a door opening, and saw two guards walk in with their young prisoner. Harry swallowed, suddenly sweating and only able to hear his racing heart in his ears. Why hadn't he left when he had the chance? He couldn't sit here for however long it took for them to call him to testify! He had put off thinking about the youngest Malfoy as much as possible, and now that it was time to face him, Harry found he wasn't ready at all. He wasn't prepared at all, and cursed himself for not prepping himself for this moment. He sunk low in his seat slowly, hoping to blend into the background of the court room.

Satisfied when his strange movement didn't seem to draw attention to himself, he allowed himself to discreetly study the boy in front of him.

Malfoy looked... like he had just spent the week at the world's most luxurious spa. Harry felt his jaw slowly drop. Unbelievable. Of course the bastard would look just as good as he always did. His robes were pressed and pristine, not a hair was out of place, and he looked like he had gotten a decent nights' sleep too! Harry narrowed his eyes, trying to find one thing that would tell him that Malfoy had not been in a spa, but had in fact been living in a prison cell for the last week. He saw nothing. Harry had no doubt that if he himself had spent a single night in a jail cell that his hair would look even more unkempt, and he would look like a mess. It wasn't fair at all.

He watched as Malfoy was led to the seat that Narcissa had vacated just minutes before. He seemed completely at ease, and Harry wondered how much of that was real, and how much was a practiced act. He would bet a hundred galleons that it was an act. Malfoy would have known that his mother's trial had just concluded and Harry knew that no one would have told him the verdict. That must be driving him mental, though he was hiding it well. Harry had learned through years of studying the boy that it seemed to be a requirement when you had Malfoy blood; being polished, both in appearance and behavior, was an expected trait, and anything less than being perfectly controlled 100% of the time was unacceptable. This was something Harry did not envy. At what point did acting cold and stiff all the time cease to become an act?

Harry scanned Malfoy again as he tried to make himself invisible. He stared at Malfoy's hair and felt himself flush as he recalled how it felt to run his hands through that soft hair and grip it between his fingers. He looked away quickly, forcing his eyes upwards as he tried to force the tell-tale blush from his face. He wished he could control his body with a fraction of the control that Malfoy seemed to possess. He sighed lowly at the ceiling as he willed his body to behave, and decided it was safe to look again.

He jumped as his eyes were met with a pair of sharp grey eyes. He looked at Malfoy more fully, unable to look away even as he felt his flush creep back into his face. Malfoy smirked slyly at Harry and raised a mocking eyebrow. Harry scowled back, humiliated and appalled at how easily he was affected by Malfoy. He snapped his eyes away from Malfoy's stare, moodily glaring at the floor in front of him.

He didn't know what he had been expecting. Of course Malfoy would be his usual arrogant self. Harry didn't know why he had expected anything else. Malfoy must have been sick the day that Harry had gone to see him at the ministry, and now he was clearly going to gloat and hold Harry's eager response over his head. Suddenly, Harry had the urge to run from the court room and leave Malfoy's fate to the wizengamot. It would serve the pompous git right! And this way, Harry thought to himself, I won't have to deal with him, or what happened between us.

He found himself listening with half an ear to the proceedings around him, as he dwelled on his own foolish expectations. And was again startled by a sudden ringing silence. Looking around, he saw everyone's eyes on him, as if waiting for some sort of reaction.

After waiting a beat, Harry cleared his throat and lamely said, "Pardon?", looking to Shacklebolt sheepishly.

With a patient look, Shacklebolt repeated himself. "Mr. Potter, I just introduced you again to the wizengamot. We are waiting for your testimony on behalf of Draco Malfoy…?"

Harry looked around and noticed for the first time the same guard who seemed to be his escort, waiting for him to walk him to the seat he had taken previously to testify for Malfoy's mother.

"Oh, right, sorry!" Harry jumped up, and stumbled forward awkwardly. He heard a small chuckle and snapped his head up, glaring as he once again saw the familiar smirk in place, though this time Malfoy's eyes seemed to be dancing with amusement at Harry's expense.

Harry huffed and rolled his eyes, as he walked stiffly to the seat waiting for him. He hadn't noticed before, but the seat was directly across from Malfoy, with only Shacklebolt's podium separating them. He was suddenly hyper aware of the fitted robes that he was in as he approached the chair and turned to face Malfoy before sitting down slowly. He saw Malfoy taking in his appearance with a lazy gaze, not seeming to care that everyone was watching their interaction with interest. Harry was positive that no one would read anything into it other than their well-known animosity towards one another, but still, he felt his body flush underneath Malfoy's heated gaze. He could only pray that everyone staring at them took it for anger towards the boy in front of him.

And then, suddenly, the heat in his face _was_ from anger towards the blonde. How dare he look at Harry like that, like he was his to drink in. He wasn't Malfoys! He wasn't anybody's! If Malfoy was determined to make Harry uncomfortable and try to humiliate him, then Harry would do the same. Deciding to also ignore the crowd, he narrowed his gaze and stared right back.

Boldly, he took in Malfoy's appearance in full view of the crowd, all the while knowing that Malfoy was watching him shrewdly. He made his body again relax, and felt his body cool down as he forced his emotions down using his occlumency shields. This must be how Malfoy did it, Harry thought. Using occlumency to act indifferent. And it seemed to be working. He felt his flush disappear quickly, and focused on the slight flush he now saw gracing Malfoy's cheeks and neck, disappearing below his neat robes. Harry caught his eyes again, and smirked triumphantly back. He had succeeded. He didn't know why Malfoy thought Harry ought to be the only one embarrassed about their display. After all, Malfoy was the one who had kissed him, not the other way around.

He chose to ignore the blonde after finally getting a reaction from him that wasn't his usual sneering façade, and focused on Kingsley, who was looking between the two with a confused look.

"Right. Let's begin," Kingsley said after a moment.

Harry then launched into the tale of how he had been on the top of the astronomy tower underneath the invisibility cloak, and had seen everything that had taken place. Upon hearing this, Malfoy, who had also been pointedly ignoring Harry, snapped his head up to stare horrified at Harry.

Seeing his expression, Harry looked back with a compassionate look. "Malfoy lowered his wand. He never would have killed Dumbledore; he doesn't have it in him to take a life. He was never a death eater, not really. I believe that he took part in these things because he had no other choice. Voldemort was threatening to kill his mother if he didn't follow through, and he was also told that he himself would be killed if he failed to kill the task. Snape and Dumbledore had an agreement beforehand that Snape would kill Dumbledore so that Draco didn't have to. Dumbledore was already dying, and with Snape killing Dumbledore, it would solidify Snape's position in Voldemort's inner circle. Voldemort knew that Malfoy wouldn't be able to go through with it, and was intending for him to fail so that he could kill him. It was punishment for how unhappy he was with Lucius." Harry stated in a simple voice.

"How do you claim to know all of the, Mr. Potter" Shacklebolt asked him in a surprised tone of voice.

"I know because I had a connection to Voldemort's mind, and I used to be able to see through his mind. I saw on more than one occasion his followers and the things that they were forced to do upon request, and I also saw Voldemort's private conversations." Harry paused as he heard a loud gasp from in front of him, and met the startled, horrified face of Draco Malfoy staring at him like he wanted to vomit. Harry looked away, needing to continue, to get it all out. "So when I say that I know that Voldemort intended for Malfoy to fail, it is not an assumption, but a fact. He told Bellatrix Lestrange that he would fail, and would then die after he was forced to watch his mum die. I don't believe Malfoy did anything of his own free will. He was underage at the time that almost all of this took place, and should not be held accountable for his actions. His life, as well as his mother's was being held over his head. I mean, Voldemort was using Malfoy Manor as his headquarters for a few years, it's not like Malfoy could escape from him. I don't remember my parents, but if I had them with me today, I'd like to think that I would also do anything in my power to keep them safe. And I'd also like to point out that Malfoy didn't fight in the final battle. He could have fought against us, but instead, he didn't. "Harry finished firmly. He looked at Malfoy again, with a neutral look. Malfoy no longer looked like he was going to be sick, but he did look shaken.

After Kingsley asked Harry if he had anything else to add, he simply told the court how withdrawn and quiet Malfoy had been their 6th year, and how the events that would soon take place weighed heavily on his mind. With that, he left the seat and again went to his spectator seat, while the wizengamot left to deliberate.

Malfoy had slumped slightly in his chair. Harry stared at the blonde and wondered what he was thinking. How would he react if he was given a sentence of Azkaban? Would he keep his stoic expression in place, or would Harry again see the destroyed boy he had seen in 6th year in the abandoned girl's bathroom? Just thinking about Malfoy being sentenced to Azkaban gave Harry's stomach a queasy feeling. Suddenly, feeling as if he needed air, he shot out of his seat and was halfway to the door when the wizengamot started filing back in.

Harry gaped at them. They couldn't be back so soon! It had been less than five minutes! And Harry thought 30 minutes for Narcissa's had been too short. He stopped where he was and backed away, staring at them still. He turned sharply when he felt something against his back. He was suddenly looking at Malfoy up close; he had unknowingly backed right into him. He glanced back towards the door and saw that the members of council were still slowly filing back to their seats.

Harry looked back at Malfoy and took a moment to absorb his appearance up close. Suddenly, he didn't look like he had been to a spa recently. Harry saw the light circles under his eyes, the shuttered look in his eyes as Malfoy stared right back at him. And all Harry wanted to do was run his hands through that soft hair again. Merlin, he was lost for.

"It's too soon," Harry muttered to Malfoy, who looked surprised that Harry had spoken to him at all.

"What do you mean, Potter" Malfoy answered somewhat begrudgingly.

"The deliberation, the verdict. It's too soon! They took 30 minutes with your mother. She got off by the way, only 3 years' house arrest, some restrictions to her wand usage, and monthly home searches at your manor." Harry rushed out, needing Malfoy to hear some good news before the sentence was delivered.

Malfoy let out a startled sigh, his expression for once breaking into a look of extreme relief. "Thank Merlin," He muttered under his breath.

"it's too soon, this is too soon," Harry continued under his breath. He was panicking. They couldn't send Malfoy away, they just couldn't. Harry had been a fool to come here and stay for the verdict. There was no way that he would be able to keep his despair at bay in front of all these reporters. He could already feel himself start to tremble and sweat with the fear coursing through his body.

He moved closer to the blonde inconspicuously, needing to feel him just once more, regardless of who saw them. He stopped when he felt his side pressed into Malfoy's legs. He looked to Malfoy's again startled face, at his wide eyes.

"What the hell are you doing Potter?" he whispered, leaning closer to Harry's ear so that no one could see their exchange. "Are you trying to start some rumors here?"

Harry didn't say anything, and simply pulled back slightly so that he could look into Malfoy's eyes. They were cold at first, as cold as ever, and then he saw them change so swiftly that it took his breath away. They were the same stormy eyes that he had seen _that day_ , the want in them so pronounced that Harry was drowning in them. He took a shaky breath and leaned further away, needing space or who knows what he would do.

Malfoy stared back, his face flushed once again, and blinked slowly. "God, Potter, you're going to be the death of me" he said lowly.

"I could say the same to you," Harry whispered back.

"Mr. Potter?" Harry heard behind him. He turned swiftly, suddenly hyperaware of their situation once again, and moved quickly back to his seat on shaking legs. He tried to force his breathing and heart rate to slow down, to calm his panic that he was sure was obvious to everyone who was currently staring at him, which included Malfoy. Harry gazed at him with an expression of fear, unable to hide it. He watched as Malfoy's once again guarded look trembled slightly, before it was back in place. Oh, he was good, Harry thought to himself. He was too good.

They continued to stare at each other as the verdict was read, unable to look away, and Harry listened with tunnel vision, the voice coming from what sounded like a long way off. And finally, something seemed to reach him, because he snapped out of it suddenly, and listened more closely, heart hammering.

"…agree that Mr. Draco Malfoy was acting in desperation to save his family…. Was underage at the time of the occurrence at question… not guilty."

Not guilty, not guilty, the voice echoed in his mind. He again ignored the, again, outraged cries, and felt a brilliant smile take place on his face. He couldn't help it. He stared again at Malfoy, who seemed frozen, as if unsure how to react.

Catching Harry's eye, and seeing his radiant smile, he seemed to snap out of his shock and smiled slowly back, if a little unsurely.

Harry heard the room settle down, and the woman reading the verdict spoke again.

"Mr. Malfoy will be forced to attend the 8th year that is being offered at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry come this September, and will have monthly progress reports with the Headmaster McGonagall. He will be on house arrest until the first of September and the holidays that remain throughout the school year." She finished.

Harry couldn't believe it, that he had gotten off so easily. I mean, he was thrilled, but still surprised. He had thought for sure that the wizengamot would have wanted to use the whole of the Malfoy family to make a statement, to set a precedent for the harsh punishment the other death eaters would garner.

He was still sitting there as the room filed out, and watched as the guards led Malfoy away, who had regained his composure, and refused to look anywhere other than straight ahead of him. Harry was ok with that. They'd had a moment, and Harry knew that he wasn't the only one unaffected by the other.

He eventually got up and moved outside, not remembering the short journey back to the castle at all. He suddenly found himself outside, by his favorite spot at the lake, hidden between two boulders that shielded him from view and blocked the harsh wind that had sprung up. He leaned back and smiled again, feeling lighter than he had in months.

* * *

A/N: This chapter is much longer than the others that i have previously posted, coming in at just under 5,000 words. I thought about cutting some of the 'clutter', but decided to leave it. Nothing wrong with detail right? Anyway, i hope you like the trial scenes. I tried to do them justice, but let me know what you think in a review. I love to read them.

And to my three reviewers so far, thank you so much for your input! I'm so glad that you're enjoying my story, and i hope that you continue reading and enjoying it.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Here's an extra early update for all of my loyal readers!~

* * *

The summer flew by quickly. Harry had spent that last weekend after the trial relaxing at the castle with the rest of the Weasley's, spending as much time as possible with Ron and Hermione relaxing outside. The days were spent falsely carefree, as if the real world was waiting just over the horizon.

Harry had then spent a week over at Ron's house, as had Hermione. Almost immediately upon arrival, Mrs. Weasley had received three owls with the Hogwarts crest, informing Harry, Ron, and Hermione that Hogwarts would be inviting all the seventh years back because they hadn't been able to finish their education. It was to be their '8th year'. Harry had already known this from Malfoy's trial and punishment, but had forgotten to tell his friends in their last carefree days spent at the castle. Hermione had started jumping up and down upon reading it, and Ron had rolled his eyes and said 'no way in HELL', to which Mrs. Weasley gave him a hard smack on the back of the head in admonishment.

Harry wasn't sure he wanted to go back either. It would be strange going back after he had seen it in so much destruction. Hermione had insisted that they all go back together, stating that she didn't think it would feel right if one or only two went. Harry knew that Ron would follow Hermione.

And then he thought of Malfoy, who he knew would be there. And that was all it took for his mind to be made up. He didn't know exactly what he was hoping to achieve by spending another year in Malfoy's presence, but it would drive him crazy if he passed up the opportunity to delve a little deeper into the boy's life and their strange relationship.

Hermione had cheered up immensely upon hearing that they would all be going back together, and they had moved on, spending the rest of the week helping her work out a plan for finding her parents in Australia. It had taken several days, and in the end, it was decided that Ron would accompany Hermione to find her parents. When Harry teased them about this, both had blushed profusely.

Harry thought it would be strange now that they were finally together, that he would feel like a third wheel, but it didn't feel like that. Not really. Maybe he was just so busy with his own thoughts that he didn't notice when they snuck off on their own. Either way, he was happy for them. They needed all the happiness that they could get right now, and Harry knew that Hermione was helping Ron heal from the loss of his brother.

They had also spent the week attending funerals for the deceased. It had been a long, stressful week. Particularly, Fred, Remus, and Tonk's funeral had been devastating for Harry. Seeing the Weasley's weeping over Fred's coffin had been extremely hard to witness. Likewise, seeing little Teddy in his grandmother's arms at the dual funeral that they had held for Remus and Tonks had been equally as hard. It was hard for Harry to miss the similarities in his and the small boy's lives; both had lost their parents to a madman. However, he would make sure that Teddy knew he was loved. He was the boy's godfather, and he would make damn sure that he was a part of his life.

Part of this was the reason that Harry decided to take the rest of the summer and fix up Grimmauld Place. He had a full two months until he had to be back at Hogwarts on September 1st. He figured if he could have it fixed up by then, he could have Teddy over for part of the holidays that he had from Hogwarts. He also figured that it would be a good way to keep busy until he had to return to his school. Because he was actively _not_ thinking about Malfoy, and he was _not_ wondering and obsessing what the next school year would bring.

The first day he had simply walked all throughout his house, learning the layout and exploring rooms he had never been in before. It was all very dark and dingy, and he couldn't wait to be rid of it all. He wanted a fresh start, needed it. He didn't even know where to start. He knew he would have help in Kreacher, and Winky had stopped by that day as well, pleading to help him. Harry had insisted that Winky was needed more at Hogwarts with the renovations, but Winky had tearfully explained that without her friend Dobby there, she no longer felt that Hogwarts was her home. McGonagall had released Winky, and she was now a free elf.

Harry had relented, agreeing that Winky could help him and stay on helping Kreacher with the upkeep of Grimmauld Place and any other subsequent properties Harry may acquire in his lifetime. Winky had also refused any payment, merely stating that all she wanted was to 'belong' to the Potter line, just like Kreacher. Harry had reluctantly agreed, and as soon as he said the words, he had felt a swirl of magic whip around himself and Winky.

He had written to Hermione that night, describing the strange events, and he had received word from her the next day. She explained to him that Winky had been bound to his line, that Grimmauld Place recognized their spoken agreement and had then bound them together. Winky would now be bound to follow all of Harry's commands, and would be unable to speak of any discussions or anything that was witnessed when around his 'master'. Harry had been afraid that Hermione would be irate upon hearing that Harry now had not one, but two house elves under his lineage, but she seemed to have lightened up on the subject. Perhaps it was that she knew Harry would never treat any creature poorly. Or perhaps it was that she and Ron had been in Australia for a few days now and were 'getting closer' to finding her parents. She had been excited upon hearing that Harry was going to fix up his dismal home, and couldn't wait to see how it was coming along when they returned.

She had also sent, along with her letter, a book on common house-hold cleaning charms. Harry found it very useful and now that he had two elves more than willing to help him with whatever he needed, he found the process of renovating his home much more enjoyable. He had started with the first level, which consisted of a large living room, large kitchen, living room, sun room, office, library, and two bathrooms. He was focusing on getting rid of everything he didn't want first, which was basically everything. He had even been able to get rid of the awful portrait that was in the front hallway, with the elves' help. Apparently, Kreacher had known all along how to get rid of it, but since he hadn't recognized Harry as his master previously, had never been willing to share this information.

He kept a few select pieces, such as the dramatic long dining table and chair set that was in his dining room, an elegant mirror that hung behind the table, and the coffee table that was in the living room. Everything else was taken from the house. What the house elves did with these pieces of furniture and random knickknacks, Harry didn't know. As long as they weren't a part of his possessions anymore, he couldn't care less. A week after he had started getting rid of everything in the downstairs level was done, he was done with that stage.

He looked around, and was shocked at the difference it made. Already, the space felt lighter, more open. He then, with the elves, focused on scrubbing every inch of the place. The windows were so dirty that they blended into the bleak walls. Once they were cleaned, the lower level was surprisingly bright. He also decided to use one of Hermione's charms to refinish the scuffed up floors. They had been a strange brown, dusty color, and when he was done, they were a shiny, dark cherry wood color, and looked brand new. He kept the windows open for several days, airing out the house.

He would need to go shopping very soon, to replace everything he had gotten rid of, and knew it would cost a lot. He had gotten rid of absolutely everything, from lamps and rugs, to chandeliers and curtains. He would also need to repaint all of the walls. It was actually quite exciting, making the space his own. He thought he would like some help choosing things though, and wasn't sure who to ask. He thought about waiting for Hermione and Ron to return, but discarded that idea quickly. He had no idea when they would return, and he didn't want to put it off that long. He had nowhere to sit and lounge, other than the fancy dining room table. It was a blank canvas, just waiting to be decorated. He decided he would try asking Ginny for help. They hadn't spoken since he had left the Weasley's house a week before, but before he had left, they had started being less awkward to each other. This might be a nice way to bridge the gap, and rekindle their strong friendship.

* * *

Deciding to follow through with his decision to ask Ginny for help, the next day found Harry at Gringotts bank. He had heard back from Ginny almost immediately, and she had readily agreed to meet him in Diagon Alley to help him search for pieces for his home.

He was in an office he hadn't been in before, talking over his accounts with one of the dwarves.

"Mr. Potter, so nice to see you again. We received your owl yesterday and have gathered your account documents. I see here that you have two accounts open, one in the Potter family name, one in the Black family name." The dwarf said in a gravelly voice.

Harry nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's correct. I was wondering if you could go through with me how much is in each account, and I may also want to combine them. I don't really see why I would need two vaults, instead of just the one."

"Mhmm" the dwarf said, peering closely at the documents underneath his nose. "Well, you can combine them, but you will need a larger vault. The combined total of both vaults is just over 12 million galleons."

Harry almost fell off his chair.

"What? Twelve MILLION galleons?!" Harry nearly shouted. "That can't possibly be right. I've been in the vault that my parents left to me. There was a lot, but not THAT much!"

"Yes, I see that. But the Black family was a very prominent family, and the majority of your holdings comes from their family. There is 2 million in the Potter vault, the rest comes from the Black vault. You are currently one of the wealthiest men in wizarding Britain." He explained in a hard tone. Apparently, dwarves didn't like being contradicted.

"Right, I'm sorry, I meant no offense. I'm just surprised. Shocked, really." Harry took a moment to breathe properly. "Ok. Ok. Er, yes, I would like to go ahead and combine the two vaults, under my name please. And I would like to add my two elves to have access to my vault, if that's possible?" He said uncertainly. He wasn't sure how these things worked, and didn't want to offend the dwarf any more than he already had. No doubt the dwarves remembered his, Ron's and Hermione's memorable breakout of Gringotts the year prior.

"Very well. I will go ahead and combine the two vaults. Your new vault number will be 1027. It's in the lowest levels here, and because of its vast amount, it will hold extra precautions to keep your fortune safe. As for the elves, that shouldn't be a problem. I simply need their names. They will then be allowed to come directly into your vault at any time, and take what you have ordered them to take out. The proper amount taken will be automatically recorded in your ledgers. Many wizarding families choose one or two elves to have this privilege; it keeps them from having to come here too often to withdraw money."

"Alright, excellent. My house elves are named Kreacher and Winky. I would also like to withdraw some money while I'm here, but I'm not sure how much I'll need. I suppose I'll just take out 500,000 galleons. I'm redecorating my house!" He exclaimed excitedly. Now that he knew he would be able to buy whatever he wanted, he was even more excited.

The dwarf nodded and went to retrieve the galleons, placing them in a magically shrunken sack that Harry placed in his pocket.

He thanked the dwarf and went on his way to meet Ginny.

* * *

Ginny looked stunning. Her hair was glossy and shining, her eyes were warm and bright, and she was absolutely beaming at him. She was also in a summer dress, one that he had never seen her wear before, and showed off her curves in all the right spots. He may not want to date her anymore, but he was still a 17-year-old boy, after all. She smiled as she watched his eyes travel down her lithe frame and threw herself in his arms, much to Harry's surprise, and kissed his cheek when he awkwardly returned her embrace. He saw a flash out of the corner of his eyes and broke away quickly. He didn't need any more stories written about him right now.

She seemed unperturbed by his abrupt withdrawal and instead smiled up at him again. "Harry, I'm so happy you asked me to help you with this! I've got a great eye, you know," she said, winking at him.

Harry looked at her strangely, before nodding with a small smile. "yeah, well, we should get started. I need absolutely everything. I just got back from the bank, so we're good to go."

Ginny threaded her arm through his and eagerly led him off to a furniture shop. She explained that she thought it would be better to buy the larger items first before getting the smaller thing that way they could match the décor better to tie it all together. Harry just nodded dumbly and followed her lead, shaking his head in bemused exasperation as she dragged him around.

* * *

Several hours later, and several shops later, Harry was exhausted. Ginny was still running on full energy, and Harry was ready to throttle her. They were almost done, needing only to find a chandelier for the entry way, but he was _so_ ready to go home. All of the purchases he had made so far, for which there were _MANY,_ had already been magically delivered to his home, and the elves would already be draping them safely so that when they painted the next day, they weren't ruined from the paint. He and Ginny were currently deciding between two chandeliers at one of the last shops they had visited. One was iron and ornate, and the other, Harry's favorite, was a clear crystal, elegant and understated. He found his taste to be more light and airy, elegant and classy. He tended to like dramatic colors in jewel tones such as emerald, ruby, and violet, along with some crystal and pearly colors that shone with a luminescent luster. Ginny described his style as 'manly chic', and had said it was great, but needed a woman's touch, which was where she came in. All in all, he was extremely happy with the purchases, and had no doubt that he would now be very comfortable in his new home.

He couldn't wait to paint and put it all together. Ginny had also gone with him, right before they had gone to pick out the last chandelier, to the paint store to select colors for his lower level. They had agreed on a light sea green for the kitchen. It was bright and cheery, but not overwhelming. He had then decided on a light gold color for the walls to accent his color scheme of jewel tones. It had a slight shimmer to it, something Ginny strongly approved of. Harry didn't really care if it glittered slightly, he just wanted something light and airy, as opposed to the dingy black walls they had previously been.

After he had paid for the crystal chandelier from his considerably lighter money pouch, he thanked Ginny once more with a half hug and invited her to come over the next day to see the results. She had happily accepted, saying she would bring some dinner at around 6 that night. They parted ways and both apparated to their respective homes.

* * *

Harry fell asleep as soon as he got home, exhausted beyond belief. He woke up the next morning to bright sunshine. He groaned loudly. Apparently, in his haste to sleep he had forgotten to draw the curtains around the bed. He sighed and resigned himself to getting up and starting his day.

He slid out of his bed, looking around his room and dreading repeating the process on the upper level. He shook his head and decided to focus on finishing the lower level before he began even thinking about the other parts of the large house.

He decided to forego a shower for the moment; he was sure he would get dirty when he painted all of the downstairs anyways. He got dressed quickly and went downstairs to the dining room, eating the large breakfast that was laid out for him. He blessed his house elves. He wasn't sure he could get by without them, not now that he was used to having them there to help him with the house and to take care of him. And it wasn't only that he enjoyed not having to worry about cooking, cleaning, or laundry. He also enjoyed their company. Grimmauld Place was a large, grand home, and he would be quite lonely without the little elves who constantly checked in with him. He was very happy that Winky had come to him, and he knew that Kreacher enjoyed the added company as well.

After he finished his breakfast, he set about charming the paint onto the walls. It was really much quicker this way, and there was no way that the coats would be uneven or that the paint would drip. He went methodically room to room, putting the first coat on, and then starting over and putting the second coat on. He then set them all with a quick-drying charm, courtesy of the book that Hermione had gotten for him.

The whole painting process took a few hours, and by the time he was done, he had a late lunch and set about maneuvering his new furniture and decorations about to his liking. He marveled at how easy it all was with magic. He couldn't imagine having to do this as a muggle. The whole process would've taken much, much longer.

By 5:00 that night, he was completely finished, and headed upstairs to get showered and changed into fresh clothing. He didn't know why, but for some reason, he was slightly nervous about Ginny coming over. They hadn't been alone together in private since breaking up. Even at the week Harry had spent at the Burrow, Hermione and Ron had always been around as a buffer and distraction. Shopping didn't count; he knew that all eyes were on him, so that was hardly a private outing between the two of them. And he had noticed how clingy Ginny had been yesterday. She was acting like they were still dating, and while Harry was glad that she wasn't angry and awkward around him anymore, she was making him slightly uncomfortable with all the little touches and looks she had been sending his way yesterday.

He tried not to dwell on it as he dressed in fresh clothing, deciding to watch how she behaved tonight before he said anything. The last thing he wanted to do was call her out on it and have it be awkward again if he wasn't sure she was trying to get back together with him. Now, Harry knew he was sort of clueless when it came to women and their 'signals', but he wasn't a complete idiot. He had a fairly good idea of what she was trying to do, but just to be sure, he'd see how tonight went.

He was just finishing buttoning up his shirt when the doorbell rang. She was slightly early, which was unusual for her. She was generally late, but Harry shrugged it off and tucked his shirt in his trousers as he trotted down the stairs. He took a steadying breath, and opened the door.

* * *

Please review! I love to read them to see what my readers think!


	8. Chapter 8

Ginny stood on his doorstep, holding a bottle of wine and a picnic basket. Harry stood awkwardly at the door, confused. What the hell, this wasn't a _date,_ he thought to himself. She was, again, wearing a new dress, and looked at him happily.

"You going to make me stand out here all night, or can I come in," She chuckled at him, giving him a quizzical look.

"Er, yeah, sorry," Harry stammered out. He stepped aside and let her enter, a sweet perfume filling his nose as she swept past him into the entry way.

"Oh, Harry! I've barely stepped into the house and already, I love it! I mean, god!" She exclaimed, turning slowly, looking at every detail. "It's so much lighter! And brighter, and ohhhh look at the floor! Come on, let's put this in the kitchen! I can't wait to see the rest!" And with that, she took off, leaving a bewildered Harry in her wake.

He followed her slowly and more cautiously. He had a bad feeling about this 'dinner' all of a sudden. Since when did a normal dinner include wine? She was just turned 17… did she really think he was going to get her drunk and take advantage of her? Or maybe she wanted it the other way around, Harry thought worriedly. He made a mental note to stick to his usual pumpkin juice. Ginny was too sneaky for her own good.

He found her in the kitchen, looking at his new appliances and small table set. Everything was gleaming, as well as her smile. He led her through the first floor, showing her where he had put everything, to which she approved greatly of.

"It appears I'm not the only one with a good eye," she said slyly.

Harry just shrugged in response. "Anyway, you ready to eat? I'm starving."

She nodded and smiled again, before going to the kitchen to gather the basket and wine, saying she'd meet him in the formal dining room. Harry wondered if her cheeks were hurting yet, with how much she was smiling. It was unnatural, honestly.

He walked in a moment later, after calling for Kreacher and asking him to bring a chilled pitcher of pumpkin juice into the room, to find Ginny laying out a spread of Mrs. Weasley's delicious cooking.

"Gosh, I miss your mum's cooking," Harry said, sniffing the air appreciatively.

"Mhmm, and she made your favorite too, treacle tart for desert!"

They both sat down, and Harry saw Ginny frown for the first time that night when he politely refused her wine, in lieu of his juice.

"It's just a little bit of wine, Harry. It won't kill you," She said, with a slight eye roll.

Harry narrowed his eyes at her. He didn't need to explain himself to her. "Yes, Ginny I know. I just don't want any." He said slowly.

She huffed out a breath and looked away, taking a large gulp of her wine. Harry nibbled on his food, and ignored her obvious signs of annoyance.

"So what are your plans for the rest of the summer?" He asked, trying to continue their light conversation and keep the tension at bay.

"Oh, I don't know. Just hanging out at home. Maybe hanging out over here, too" she said glancing at him from under her lashes.

"Mmm," Harry made a noncommittal noise. "I'll be pretty busy cleaning up the upper level this summer. I need to get it ready for Teddy."

"Well, I could always help you with upstairs. Besides, I can't stand being cooped up with Mum all day. All she does is cry. I feel like we can't even mention Fred. Poor George," She muttered lowly, a look of worry crossing her face.

Harry immediately felt guilty. Here he was thinking that Ginny only had romance on the brain, and he had forgotten that she was still very much dealing with the loss of one of her brothers. He felt incredibly selfish.

"I'm sorry, Gin. I'll make sure to have you and Fred over for dinner sometime, ok? And Ron and Hermione too, when they come back." He said in a sympathetic voice.

Ginny gave him another bright smile. She finished her wine and pushed her half-finished plate away. "I'm full. Wanna move this into the living room?"

Harry gave her a wary look before answering. "…Sure…"

Ginny full on rolled her eyes at him this time. "God, Harry. Don't worry so much. Honestly!"

She stalked away from him and he followed sheepishly.

* * *

The empty bottle of wine rolled away from Ginny's fingertips, a giggle escaping from her lips. Harry groaned his frustration into his hands that were covering his face. It was now 10:30 at night and he needed to get Ginny home. NOW. He should have gotten her home hours ago, but she had absolutely insisted on staying, saying she wanted to visit and she was lonely at home. Guilt tripping Harry into letting her stay. _Low Blow, Ginny,_ Harry thought.

"Ginny, come on. You need to go home now. Your mum is going to go ballistic when she sees how drunk you are," Harry tried pleading with her again, trying to drag her stubborn frame towards the fireplace.

"Stop being such a worrywart! Come dance with me!" She demanded.

"Ginny. No. I don't want to dance. I just want to get you home before it gets any later. Now come on!"

"I'm not going anywhere!" She said loudly, belligerently. She then grabbed his hand and pulled him forcefully to sit on the couch next to her. She smiled up at him through hazy eyes and ran her fingers through his hair, as he backed away hastily.

"I don't know why you're fighting this so hard, Harry. You know you want me," she said coyly.

"Look, Ginny, I don't- "He was cut off by her lips as they pressed into his aggressively, sloppily. He shoved her away immediately in anger. This was going way too far. He had thought for a while that he had been just paranoid, reading into things, but he could see now how stupid he had been. Of course she wouldn't simply take his word and let him go.

Ginny scowled at him heavily, in shock apparently. "What the hell is wrong with you? What's so wrong with you that you would shove away a girl who is practically _throwing herself at you!_ " She screamed at him, jumping up from the couch.

"Yes, exactly," He fumed right back, beyond annoyed and frustrated with the redhead in front of him. "You're throwing yourself at me, Ginny. You're acting just like all my _fans_ " he said in a disgusted voice. "You need to go before you embarrass yourself further," He muttered, heading towards the floo.

"Embarrassing myself? I'M embarrassing myself? That's rich, coming from you, you stuck-up prude! You know how many men I could have been with by now? But no. I sat around for almost a YEAR waiting for you. Because I loved you! And you didn't think about me at all, did you?!"

"NO! I didn't. I didn't think about you, ok? I was glad that you were safe, but other than that, I was a little busy saving the fucking world, alright? God, you act like you know me so well, Ginny. If you knew me at all, you'd know this little act that you're displaying so childishly right now is the last thing that would turn me on. Falling over drunk and throwing yourself at me? Grow the hell up and get over yourself." He growled at her. God, he was pissed. How dare she. "And if you want to go and fuck a bunch of guys, I don't give a damn! You clearly don't do it for me, or have you not figured that out yet!"

She stared at him with wide eyes before letting out a pathetic wail. Harry rolled his eyes. He might have felt bad earlier in the evening about being so callous and crass towards her, but he was fed up. He stalked to the floor, grabbed the powder, and shouted 'THE BURROW'.

* * *

He opened his eyes to see Mrs. Weasley cleaning up the kitchen, looking ready for bed.  
"Ginny dear, could you— "She stopped suddenly as she turned and saw Harry alone. "Oh, Harry dear. I'm sorry, I thought you were Ginny. Where is she?" She asked quizzically.

"Er… She's at my house. I was going to see if George could help me, she's a little…" he trailed off listlessly. He may be pissed at Ginny, but he wasn't a tattletale.

"Drunk," Mrs. Weasley supplied flatly. At Harry's sheepish nod, she went towards the floo. "That girl! I swear! And we don't need George. I'LL get her!"

They stepped into the floo and exited to Harry's living room, where a still wailing Ginny sat on the floor in a heap, curled in on herself.

"Ginny, come on, let's go home," Harry once again tried.

"Unless you've changed your mind and you're ready to finally admit how much you want me, you can fuck off. We're supposed to be together, everyone knows it, except for you."

"Ginevra Weasley!" Mrs. Weasley shouted, enraged.

Ginny leaped up and spun, looking suddenly pale. "Mum!" she said in complete surprise. She then turned to Harry again. "Seriously? You went to tell my _mummy_ on me!? God, you're ridiculous. And you call ME childish! You'll regret this, Harry Potter. When you see me with my string of men, you'll be jealous, but it'll be too late."

"I don't want you! I don't love you, and right now, I really don't even like you!" Harry roared. "Now get the hell out of my house!"

Mrs. Weasley gave him a sympathetic look, hauled Ginny up by her arm, ignored Ginny's cries of pain, and swept them both through the floo.

As soon as they were gone, Harry ordered Kreacher to block Ginny's access to his floo network. When that was done, he banished the empty wine bottle, and sat back wearily on the couch. God, what a disaster. He didn't know what had come over Ginny. Did she really think that that pathetic display would work? He hadn't' been lying when he had said that she reminded him of the thousands of girls that threw themselves at him every time he went out in public.

He had thought things would be okay between them, and thought having Ginny help him redecorate his home would help smooth things over. Clearly, he had been wrong. He lamented the loss of her style expertise for a minute before he shook his head in determination. He had learned enough about the process to feel quite confident in his abilities to finish the rest of the house by himself. He could do this. And he certainly didn't need anyone's help to accomplish it!

* * *

A/N: Thanks to my reviewers! Please keep 'em coming!

I know this is kind of a short chapter, but the next chapter will be quite lengthy. Stay tuned!


	9. Chapter 9

With that thought etched in his mind, he began working on the upstairs bedrooms the very next day. He was determined to have it completely done before summer, and the bedrooms and bathrooms would take longer, since there was so much junk in them. Perhaps he could finish a few weeks early so that he could have Teddy over a few times before he had to return to school.

All in all, there were 9 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms upstairs, as well as another large library, another office, and another sitting room. It was an extremely large house, and he wasn't sure what he would do with it all, but regardless, it needed to be redone. So he took the next three weeks to completely empty out all of the rooms. The only thing he kept was Sirius's old desk and trunk, which he would place in his room.

At the end of the three weeks, with his elves' help, he set about scrubbing the rooms top to bottom. He also went through the same process of redoing the floors on the upper level, to the point that the hallways and bedroom floors were once again gleaming.

He had several pieces in mind to purchase from his previous trip he had taken with Ginny, so his shopping didn't take nearly as long as it had the first time. He stuck with the same theme. Classy, elegant, while still being homey and plush. His house wouldn't be anything like it had been at the Dursley's, with people being afraid to sit on the furniture for fear of ruining the pristine image. He would keep it very neat and tidy, but he still wanted it very cozy. He wanted a home, not a museum.

The last step he took was to select paint colors and curtains to match the decor. He chose the same golden color for the hallways upstairs, continuing the light theme, and then chose different colors with the bedrooms, since all of the bedrooms were slightly different in color and theme. He chose several masculine shades such as deep blues and emerald greens, as well as feminine colors such as violets, light blues, and pinks. The women at the sales shops had been more than willing to help him select pieces of furniture and trinkets to go in the more feminine rooms, should he have female guests that stayed with him. Overall, he thought it all looked spectacular. The rooms were large, comfortable, and quite decadent, and three of the nine had private sitting rooms and reading nooks near bay windows as well. And not only were the rooms magnificent looking, but with his elves' help, he had placed permanent silencing, locking, and privacy charms on all of the bedrooms, including his own. No one would be able to hear anything from outside the room unless the speaker in the room intended it to be heard, as well as if they didn't mind if someone came in the room.

His room, the master, was fantastic. It had its own en suite, with a ridiculously large Jacuzzi tub, a magnificent standing shower, and heated floors. It also had not one, but two walk in closets. After his room was done and the elves had reorganized his clothing to the newly done closets, his meager amount of clothing took up less than a quarter of one closet. He decided to complete his new house, he would go shopping before school started and buy a whole new wardrobe. He had the money, he might as well look decent. And besides, he had never bought himself clothes before; he still had Dudley's hand me downs hanging in his closet. This was a new chapter in his life, and he was ready for a change.

Aside from his large private bath and double closets, the room boasted its own sitting room with large fireplace and large bay window, which he had outfitted with plenty of cushions, perfect for curling up and reading.

He was done, his house was complete, and he still had almost 200,00 galleons left from his withdrawal of 500,000. He couldn't believe it. He had thought it would cost upwards of a million galleons to get his large home refurbished, but luckily, his tastes weren't gaudy and ridiculously expensive. It was definitely more expensive than some, but not nearly bank-breaking. He was actually quite surprised in himself, that he would splurge on such items, and spend over 300,000 galleons. He wasn't used to spending any money at all, unless it was on the trolley cart to and from Hogwarts, or the few galleons he spent when out on Hogsmeade trips. But that hardly counted. And now that he knew how wealthy he was, he wasn't going to live like a pauper anymore. He was by no means going to blow it and become some snobby rich guy, but still, he could be comfortable.

As soon as he thought the words snobby and rich, his mind immediately went to Malfoy. He wondered how the summer was treating the blonde, and if he was bored out of his mind being cooped up in that awful house with his mother. And he also wondered if he was the only one that tried his best not to think about the other, or to wonder how the next school year would play out. His thoughts were bordering on obsession. Now that the remodeling of his home was done, there was nothing more to occupy Harry's thoughts, and he found them drifting to the blonde more and more as the end of summer drew closer.

There was one week left before school started up and he couldn't believe how quickly the summer had went. He had heard from Hermione just the other day, that she and Ron were finally back, after successfully reversing the mind alterations on her parents. They had then spent a month with Hermione's parents, who had chosen to stay in in Australia.

Hermione had also written to him, after he had told her all about his renovations to Grimmauld Place, that since he had foregone a celebration for his birthday in lieu of focusing on his home renovation, that she wanted to have a get together with him before they went back to school the following week.

So Harry had agreed, inviting all of the Weasley's, as well as Neville and Luna to his home to celebrate and visit. Hermione had agreed to go shopping with him for a new wardrobe before his party, and he found he was excited to see her and shop for new clothes. It had been too long since he had seen his friends, and he missed them terribly. Ron was going too, as Hermione had stated that Harry wasn't the only one that could do with 'a bit of sprucing up'. They had plans to go two days before his party, so Harry took the next few days to relax before he had everyone over for his birthday.

He had Teddy and Andromeda over one day for tea and biscuits, and to show her the improvements he had made to his home. She was amazed at the speedy transformation.

"It's amazing what you can do when a madman isn't trying to kill you every other day, eh Harry," She had chuckled warmly.

Harry smiled back at her and wholeheartedly agreed, laughing with her. She had been very happy to see that one of the bedrooms was more kid friendly, and would make an excellent bedroom for Teddy to stay the night sometime when he got a little older.

The visit had been easy and full of warmth; Harry found that he was very excited to be a part of his Godson's life, as his Godfather had never really gotten to be a part of his.

* * *

When the day for Harry, Ron, and Hermione's shopping trip came upon them, Harry met the two of them in the Three Broomsticks before they got down to business. The two told Harry all about their adventures in Australia, Hermione's parents, and how good it felt to be back home. Hermione told Harry that she and Ron were thinking of renting a flat in London after school was over, depending on where they both decided to work, and Harry found the idea to be wonderful. London was very close to where his home was, and he wanted to keep in close contact with his friends after school was done.

They finished their butter beers and went about their shopping expedition. The first thing they did was their school supply shopping, which only took an hour. They then moved on to the main reason for their trip. It took many hours, but was a very successful trip. Ron had left after about an hour, after begrudgingly buying a few new robes to appease his girlfriend.

They had started out in Madam Malkins, stocking up on an assortment of casual, business, and dress robes. Harry had never owned so many robes in his entire life, nor any so rich in color, material, or quality. They were all charmed to grow with him, being constantly fitted to his frame, much the same as the Emerald ones that Hermione had gifted to him for his last birthday. He was informed by Madam Malkin that they were the height of fashion, and he would look 'absolutely dashing'. He also got a few new Hogwarts robes, the newest style, and more fitted to his fit body, much to Hermione's approval.

Hermione maintained her energy, and told Harry all about how she had researched the best shops in Hogsmeade, _of course I researched the shops Harry, honestly!,_ so they went visiting all of them. When Harry had told Hermione how much money was in his vault, Hermione had immediately started at the more luxurious stores, much to Harry's protest.

"Oh honestly Harry, you've got the money, you might as well use it! Besides, I'm tired of seeing you looking like a drowned rat! You need a proper wardrobe for once in your life. We're going to get you everything from socks to ties!"

And they had. Harry didn't know that getting a whole new wardrobe included buying so many items. He hadn't ever purchased anything before, so it was a bit of a shock to his system. He couldn't keep track of how many pairs of jeans, gray and black slacks, and khaki's Hermione had insisted he buy. And everything was so tight!

"Harry, it's not TIGHT. It's just fitted to your actual person. You have a very nice body, no need to hide it with those whale outfits you usually wear. You look good, really good." She said with an appreciative eye, ignoring Harry's blush.

"Er, if you say so, Mione"

"Yes, I say so. There's nothing wrong with wanting to look good, you know. There's such a thing as good attention and bad attention. The clothing you wore before… that was bad attention. This new you will be good attention. Very good. And plus," She added as an afterthought. "If you feel good in the clothes and way you appear, you'll be more confident. I've seen you talking to reporters. You're always stammering and blushing. I think this will help. And I think we need one more pair of jeans, another dark pair, but maybe this one can be more rugged, worn looking. Kinda frayed. I think those jeans are so sexy!' She gushed.

Harry blushed again. He wasn't used to talking to Hermione about fashion, money, or Merlin help him, his 'good body' and 'sexy jeans'. He supposed she was right though. He did think it would help with his confidence. And while he shied away from the spotlight as much as possible, he didn't think that would ever be possible, as long as his name was Harry Potter. So he may as well get more comfortable with it, and be more confident about his appearance.

He tried on yet another pair of the jeans she deemed worthy enough and grimaced as she beamed at him. He didn't care what she said, he felt like they were tight, revealing. When he said so much, she laughed at him lightly.

"Well, that's because they are. In a very good way. They're fitted. Shows off your arse rather nicely," She said in a false whisper.

"Hermione!" He said going crimson as other shoppers glanced at them with smirks. No doubt this would be in the papers tomorrow. She just laughed and swatted his behind, ordering him to change so that they could continue shopping.

Once they had finished with the bottoms, which included several pairs of socks and boxers, much to Harry's mortification, they had moved on to tops.

Again, he was surprised at the sheer amount that Hermione ordered him to purchase, going from shop to shop and demanding to see the best that they had. Harry thought it was all a little extravagant, but shrugged it off. Let her have her fun, he thought. And when she pointed out that he was 'Harry Potter', and he had a bit of an image to uphold, he thought he had managed to keep his grumblings to a minimum.

He now had a vast assortment of soft, warm sweaters, button up dress shirts, casual long and short sleeve shirts that Hermione said were still remarkably fashionable, and some new zip ups that 'would look great with one of your new v necks and one of those pairs of sexy jeans'. He rolled his eyes and put it in the large 'to buy' pile. At this rate, he would fill up both closets.

She also had him buy several ties to go with his new 'business attire' as Hermione called it. She reminded him of who he was, and assured him that when he found himself at the ministry or in front of the press for something or another he would be extremely grateful for his vast new wardrobe.

The next thing on their agenda was shoes. Hermione made him throw out his sneakers that he had been wearing for the past 4 years and just magically resizing every few months to fit. He had no qualms about this. They were atrocious. She made him try on dozens of pairs, and settled on four different black shoes, two more formal and two casual, and some more casual loafers in browns and dark greys.

After the shoes, Harry resolutely followed Hermione to an outer ware store. In the to buy pile was a real leather jacket, black and kind of badass, in Harry's opinion, a sleek dragon hide jacket, a brown jacket that had a charmed lining to keep him warm, and a charcoal grey navy style pea coat. He thought having 4 jackets was, again, extravagant, but Hermione just brushed it off.

Harry had changed into a new outfit mid-shopping trip, and Hermione had made him throw away everything he was wearing. That was no loss, he wasn't exactly attached to anything he had owned at the Dursley's. She was now watching him critically as he spun slowly for her, feeling incredibly foolish.

"It's a thousand percent better, Harry, really. But something's still not right," she said in a far off voice.

"Merlin, what else is there? I've just bought an entire clothing store!" Harry said in an exasperated voice.

"I'm not sure yet. Let's go grab some dinner and I'll think about it."

Harry relented, knowing it was pointless to refuse at this point; He was her puppet for the day. After they had gotten some food and re-energized themselves, Harry found he was less moody than he had been and smiled gratefully at Hermione.

"Mmmm I guess I was a little hungry before. Sorry, Mione. I really appreciate you taking your whole day to… dress me," he laughed awkwardly.

Hermione folded him into a hug, her eyes shining. "Of course! My god, I wish Ron would let me do this for him. He'd look so much better, but I'll take what I can get. By the way, I've figured out what else we need to do for this fresh new you. You need a new haircut. And we're also going to an ophthalmologist."

"A what?" Harry asked, confused.

"An ophthalmologist, Harry. It's an eye doctor. When was the last time you went?" She asked in a knowing voice.

Harry just looked down. He couldn't remember the last time he had been to one. He'd had the same awful round glasses since he could remember.

"Yes, just as I thought. How you can even see out of those things is beyond me. Come on, let's go get an appointment made. I saw a shop down this way," She said, gesturing to a part of Hogsmeade that he had never been to before, filled with offices and businesses.

They stepped inside and were told the wait was an hour, so they left after making the appointment, and went to get his hair cut.

As soon as he stepped in the hair salon, which was mostly filled with witches, all eyes snapped to him and the semi quiet atmosphere tripled in sound.

"Merlin Mary Joseph! That's _HARRY POTTER. HARRY POTTER IN THE SAME SALON I USE!_ " He heard all around him. He turned immediately to inform Hermione that he was leaving, but she grabbed his arm and dragged him to the front counter.

"Hello, my name is Hermione, and I'd like to see if there are any openings for my friend here" She said primly.

The front clerk merely blinked stupidly at them, not uttering a word. When it started to get beyond uncomfortable and Hermione looked like she was about to get cross, which _no one_ wanted, Harry saw an older, no-nonsense looking woman coming down the aisle towards them.

She stepped in front of them and introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Rosalie, and this is my beauty parlor. I hope Judy has been helpful?" She raised a questioning eyebrow at the woman behind the desk, who still looked star struck.

"Er… Well, I'd just like to get a haircut if there are any openings?" He said, aware that every person in the place was listening to every breath he took. Honestly, people needed to get over it already. He was just a normal person.

"Mr. Potter, I would be happy to accommodate you," She smiled sincerely. She then leaned closer and whispered in his ear. "I apologize for the rudeness of my staff. We are unused to such… celebrities gracing our salon. Please, allow me to show you to this chair over here." She gestured to a corner chair that was semi blocked off from the rest of the prying eyes. Harry breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at her, Hermione trailing behind, looking extremely pleased.

"We're not sure what would look good. We've been shopping all day getting Harry a new wardrobe. Something that will make him actually look his age, and fit his personality more. As you can see, his hair is quite untamable…" Hermione explained to the woman, who was running her hands through Harry's hair, inspecting it.

"hmmm, yes, I see that. I don't think It's untamable per se, I think it may just be that the style isn't right for him," She said, looking to Hermione. She then looked to Harry, letting her hands fall from hair. "Mr. Potter- "

"Harry, please call me Harry. Mr. Potter sounds… too official," He said with a slight smile.

"Harry then. Your hair is quite nice. Very thick and strong. But this style does nothing for your hair or facial features. If you'll let me, I think I know a good style that would suit you. And I can see by your outfit that you're going for more of a grown up, dapper look. I think what I have in mind will be much more suitable to a young man of your… status in the wizarding world, just like these wonderful clothes." She stated.

Hermione beamed at Rosalie. Obviously she was sold.

Harry nodded in agreeance. What did he have to lose?

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, Harry thanked Rosalie again as he walked out of the salon, once again running his fingers through his new haircut.

"Harry! It looks soooooo good!" Hermione gushed for what seemed like the zillionth time.

Harry sighed good naturedly and smirked at her. He knew it looked good. He had stared at his reflection in the mirror for a full minute, before snapping out of it and turning to a smiling Rosalie. He had heard the whispers of the other stylists saying that Rosalie _never_ cut anyone's hair anymore, and wasn't he so lucky! At the end Rosalie had given Harry her card, telling him to call her the next time he wanted his haircut,' which should be in six months', she told him firmly. She was officially his hair stylist.

"Thanks, Hermione. I really like it. I'm glad you talked me into it. I think I really needed it. Cut away all the old, Voldemort soul-linked Harry Potter!" He said to her, leaning in. Her excitement over his new look was infectious, and he found that as he wore his new, 'fitted', clothes throughout the day, he liked the looks he was getting from witches and wizards alike. He forced himself not to think about the wizards who were outright ogling his body, or the way it spread a certain awareness throughout his body. He was used to witches making him more aware of how he looked; wizards on the other hand, was a new thing for him. He wondered if both sexes had always looked at him before and he had just never noticed, or if it was a new thing. And then he wondered if Malfoy would look at him like that, with the same hungry, heated look that he had seen in the blondes face twice before. He found himself hoping that Malfoy _would_ react like that.

He must look good in his new clothes. And he found they didn't feel so tight anymore, just that they actually fit him, like Hermione had said. Already, he could feel his confidence growing.

Back at the ophthalmology clinic, Harry saw a Dr. Simmons. It was an interesting experience for Harry, who couldn't remember ever going to a place such as this. He was informed at the end of his lengthy examination that his eyesight was 'abysmal' and that his glasses that he was currently wearing were a poor substitute for what he really needed.

"Now I know in the muggle world; they have things such as contacts or laser eye surgery. We offer both here, but we also offer more magical enhancements." The doctor informed Harry.

"Enhancements? What does that mean, exactly," Harry asked cautiously. He was all for changing his clothes and his hair, but his eyes were another story. He still wanted to look like himself.

"Well, I'm not sure what your financial situation is, Mr. Potter. But if you want, there is a potion that is very rare, and therefore quite expensive. Would you like more information on it?"

"Well, how expensive are we talking here? And what does it do?" Harry questioned, intrigued.

"I'd take that as, yes, we'd like more information," Hermione said from behind him.

"Alright. The potion is called Cystallo Elixir. It's Latin for 'Crystal', as in crystal clear. It is a potion that is drunk once every 6 months, and it gives the drinker 20/20 vision, same as the new glasses you would get would, for the entirety of the 6 months. This would negate the need to wear any contact or glasses. Only a few select brewers are able to brew such a delicate potion, and since Mr. Severus Snape's passing, even less of the potion is available. It's not usually made in advance because so few people can afford it." The doctor explained.

"How much is a 6-month supply?" Hermione asked.

"Well, it's just one small vial. You take one every 6 months. One vial is a thousand galleons. So you can see, it can add up over time."

"A thousand galleons, eh? Well, I suppose it's not so bad. Two thousand galleons every year? I think I would be able to afford that." Harry said uncertainly, looking to Hermione to see what she thought.

"You _think_ you can afford it? Yes, I'd say you're able to afford it, easily. Why don't you take off your glasses so I can see how you look without them," she asked him gently. She knew he had done a lot to change his appearance today, and didn't want to push him too far, too fast.

He did so, and looked around with his blurry vision, uncomfortable to have them both staring at him without his glasses on. He felt naked.

"Merlin, Harry. I never noticed how GREEN your eyes are. Your glasses kind of hide that, you know? I think you look wonderful without them. I think you should do it!" She said happily.

Harry put his glasses back on and thought about it for another minute. It wasn't the money, but the fear of losing his identity.

"You don't think I'd look too… I don't know. I like I was trying too hard to change who I am or anything? Like I'm trying to be someone I'm not? I don't want to go back to school and have people think I'm a big snob, Mione." He said to her earnestly.

She smiled at him, laughing slightly. "Believe me, Harry. No one in their right minds would mistake you for a snob, no matter what you look like. You just look more grown up. You look extremely handsome. Some might even say you look quite se- "

"Don't!" He glared at her in mock anger. The last thing he needed to hear from her again was how sexy he was. She just laughed at him good naturedly and finished loudly "sexy! Soooo Sexy!" She laughed again and elbowed him, as he laughed along with her, albeit with a telling blush.

"Well, I guess I'll take the potion then. Do I have to wait for it or…"? He trailed off, as the doctor pulled out a tiny blue swirling vial.

"No need, Mr. Potter. I have one right here," The doctor said with a smile.

Harry blinked at him, surprised. "How did you know I would buy the potion?" he asked.

"I didn't, I was simply hoping you would." At seeing Harry's narrowed eyes at this, the doctor explained further hurriedly. No one wanted to be on the bad side of the wizard who had killed the most feared wizard to have ever lived. "Let me explain. I hardly make any profit from the potion. 98% of that goes to the potion maker. I'm merely a supplier. No, I wanted you to buy the potion so badly because those eyes of yours are absolutely breathtaking, Mr. Potter," He said breathlessly.

Harry blushed and looked away, embarrassed yet again.

"Those eyes shouldn't be hidden behind frames. It's a crime of nature." The doctor proclaimed vehemently. "And believe me when I say I've seen my fair share of beautiful eyes. Yours top the charts!"

At this, Harry grabbed the vial, in a hurry to pay and leave. As he thanked the doctor and paid, he was told that he simply needed to owl the doctor when he wanted another supply. They both thanked him again, and left.

* * *

Hermione apparated with Harry to Grimmauld Place, where all of his many bags of clothing were waiting on the dining room table. He knew the elves would be anxiously awaiting orders of where and how he wanted his new wardrobe organized.

He gave Hermione the tour, while she gushed and congratulated him on a job well done.

"I can't believe it! I didn't know this place could look so… so good! I mean, it's absolutely gorgeous Harry! It's beautiful! I'm so happy for you!" She said, jumping up and down as she claimed a violet room as 'hers'. Harry smiled and laughed at her enthusiasm. It had been a wonderful day, and he had missed her infectious energy terribly.

"Ok, Harry, you've stalled long enough. Take the potion already!" She said, still bouncing up and down slightly.

Harry took the vial gingerly from his pocket. He took off his glasses and put them fondly down on the table. "Ok, here goes," He said, before downing the small vial in one neat swallow.

Immediately, he felt a slight tingling around his eyes, and squeezed them shut. A minute later, the tingling sensation went away and he opened his eyes slowly.

He was amazed. He couldn't believe it. He had never seen things with such crystal vision before. It was like seeing for the first time. Everything was sharper and brighter, the colors more vibrant and precise. Hermione laughed at his expression and the way he was taking everything in. No more would he have to squint at the board to read his professor's tiny writing, or get headaches from his poor vision. He was thrilled.

"Merlin, this is the best money I've ever spent!" He exclaimed.

They both laughed together in happiness. It was the best day Harry could remember having for a long time, and hugged Hermione for a long minute. "Thank you so much, Hermione. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. It feels so good to start over, start fresh. And you know what? You're right, my arse feels terrific in these jeans!" He said with a cheeky wink.

Hermione gave a startled laugh and poked him in the stomach, laughing loudly.

"Haha. Very funny. You're not wrong though!" they both laughed for another minute as Harry led Hermione to the floo.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow for your party, and then the day after that, Hogwarts!" She said clapping like a child.

He laughed and shook his head at her. "Only _you_ would be so excited to return to school" He said, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"Aren't you a little bit excited?" She said in a wondering voice.

"I guess, yeah. It'll be good to see it looking restored. Like home again. Although Grimmauld is starting to feel very much like my home now. But yeah, it'll be good to go back. To see… everyone." He said, trailing off, caught in his memories of gray eyes. He wondered what color those eyes would look to him now that he could actually see.

Hermione smiled at him one more time, and with a kiss to the cheek, bade him goodnight.

Harry crawled into bed, leaving his recent purchases to deal with in the morning. That night, he dreamt of sharp, swirling gray eyes, for the first time that summer.

* * *

A/N: I know this chapter is very long and filled with way too much detail about Harry's transformation, but i had a lot of fun writing this chapter. It was important for me to have him mature and leave his 'dark soul' behind after the battle.

Animefan1980: Draco has been on house arrest all summer. That was part of his punishment as his verdict, as well as being restricted to Malfoy Manor during holdiay breaks from Hogwarts. His mother is also on house arrest, though she is on house arrest for three years. Hope this helps clear things up!

Please review!


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, Harry woke up later than he normally did. He supposed his body had needed the rest from being out all day with Hermione the day before.

He summoned his elves and asked them to bring his new clothing upstairs so that he could put it away. The immediately balked and pleaded for him to let them put the clothes away, and in the end Harry let them help him, much to their delight.

It took a few hours to get all of his new clothing arranged how he wanted it, and he was amazed to find that he still had room for more clothes. His first closet was full, but still had plenty of room for more clothes; everything was spread out and not clumped together. His other closet adjacent to the one he was currently using was completely empty. He vowed to himself that he would keep that hidden from Hermione; if she found out he still had so much empty closet space, he foresaw another shopping trip in his future. He cringed at the thought.

He was grateful to her, extremely, but he decided that now that he had a good starting point for his 'new look', he would pick things up here and there, when the mood struck him, instead of continually purchasing a whole new wardrobe.

He still had money left over as well, and quite a bit! While Hermione had taken him to upscale boutiques for his clothing, he had shied away from most of the ridiculously extravagant items, only buying select few that were extremely expensive. The clothes he had bought were still very good quality and immensely stylish though; he simply wasn't a clothing snob.

* * *

After he was done with his task, he got dressed in a new outfit. He had so much to choose from, and chose dark jeans (NOT one of his numerous 'sexy' pairs), and a light blue V-neck that Hermione had told him brought out shades of blue in his green eyes, with a soft cream zipper up jacket. He finished with the new black socks that Hermione had insisted he buy, saying, "Honestly, Harry, who wears white socks? Almost all of your clothing is darker shades, and you have black, brown, and grey shoes. You need black socks, and black socks only. Besides, if you dress business casual, you'll most certainly need to wear black socks with your slacks and black shoes." And that had settled the matter. As long as they weren't Dudley's worn through hand me downs, he could care less.

He went into the bathroom and styled his hair slightly, using the new pomade that Rosalie had used in his hair to 'give it texture'. He thought it had looked quite suave when she had done it, and thought he succeeded quite well for his first time attempting anything resembling styling his hair. He thought with some practice, he could get it to look as good as she made it look.

When he was done, he stepped back and stared in the large mirror above his double sinks. He still looked like himself, but much more mature. Much more like he felt inside. He didn't feel like the same boy who had been before the battle. And maybe that was because he had been through so much in such a short period of time, or maybe it had to do with the fact that he no longer had a piece of Voldemort's soul lingering in his mind and body. He certainly felt more free and light.

He stepped back slightly and looked at his form in his new clothes. He hadn't allowed himself to really critique himself yesterday in front of Hermione. It felt too weird, like he was being conceited or something. But now that he was alone, he found a slight smile on his face as he turned this way and that, secretly admiring how the clothes fitted his body to a T. And surprisingly, these jeans looked good on his arse too! He chuckled to himself lightly, thinking of Hermione. And not only did his arse look good, but so did the rest of his body. His shirt, while not tight, was much more fitted than he was used to, and showed off his lean muscled quidditch body nicely. He hadn't been sure of buying V-necks before, but Hermione had insisted that it was incredibly sexy on men who had the right bodies for it. Harry had discovered how much Hermione liked using the word sexy, and laughed to himself again thinking about it. He then leaned forward and got a closer look at his face and hair. His friend had been right; it was a thousand percent better, no doubt about it. And now that he had perfect vision, he saw what the eye doctor had been talking about. Merlin, his eyes _were_ vivid. He silently thanked his mother for passing that on. They were large and bright, and very, very green. He then examined the rest of his face, scrutinizing it as he never had before. His eyebrows were bold and framed his eyes nicely, and he had always been blessed with clear skin, thank Merlin.

He slipped on his new pair of casual grey loafers, and left the room.

* * *

That night, he helped the elves go through his trunk, cleaning it out and getting rid of the rubbish that he found lying about the bottom of it. He found that now that he had redone his home and actually had a comfortable, tasteful, homey place to call his own, he quite liked keeping his things organized and neat, and that now included his school supplies.

He had decided to swap out his trunk and use Sirius's old trunk instead. It had an extendable charm on the inside, much like Hermione's purple purse that she always carried around with her, so he would be able to take much of his new wardrobe with him to Hogwarts, while keeping everything nice and organized. And not only would he be able to keep more of his new items with him, but it also made him feel like he had a part of Sirius with him.

They packed up his new books, parchment, and quills, and completed the task at hand. He was all set for Hogwarts and found himself growing excited. There was only two days before he left for the train. He could technically apparate there, but wanted that one last experience of riding on the train with his friends, and buying way too many sweets from the trolley cart. He wanted to do this year right.

And then, thinking that there was only two days left to go to Hogwarts, he felt a slight pang in his stomach. How would it be to be back in the castle, after he had seen so much death and destruction there? Would it be the same? Would it still be the magical place that he had first seen as a fresh faced eleven-year-old? If it was even a fraction as magnificent as it used to be, he was ok with that. After all, all of the people that had died in the war, and at Hogwarts deserved to be remembered. Harry didn't think that completely making the castle as it was before was unrealistic.

And then, thinking about the coming school year, his thoughts drifted to Malfoy. With another twinge, he immediately felt incredible guilt. He had meant to give Malfoy back his wand at the end of the ministry after he spoke with him, but then they had had their _moment,_ and it had flown out of his mind. By the time he had remembered, the thought of facing the blonde again was terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time. But more terrifying that anything else. His own response to Malfoy's kiss was what scared him the most. Not to mention how completely shocking and bewildered he had been that Malfoy had kissed him at all.

Seeing him at the ministry had been different. Yes, they had had a bit of a heated, charged moment at the end, but still, it had been different. It wasn't like they were going to jump each other in the middle of a crowded court room. _Not_ that they were going to jump each other at all!

Now though, he thought he could handle it when he inevitably saw the blonde again. He would be mentally prepared, on his toes for whatever happened, if anything happened at all. Which again, _nothing would happen!_

And not only that, but he would be more confident than he had ever felt in his life. He felt like a new person, one unburdened with the weight of having a dark soul attached to him. One free of his awful muggle family. One who looked more mature and comfortable with his body than he had ever felt before.

He was free to do as he pleased now, aside from school, which he still didn't regret signing up for. Even if it was awful, which he doubted it would be with the majority of his friends going back, he still needed to finish his education. He had been told by Kingsley after the battle that if he wanted a job as an auror, he could have it right away. But Harry didn't feel comfortable with that. Not only was he uncomfortable with the special treatment, but he wasn't even sure if he wanted to be an auror anymore; that had been something that sounded good to him in 5th year. Now though, he thought he may have had enough violence, fighting and death to last him a lifetime. It was something he wanted to explore further this year at school.

He decided he would seek out Malfoy the first chance he got when they were both alone, and give him back his wand. He knew Malfoy must have been going crazy, not having his wand this whole time. He wondered how Malfoy felt knowing it was his wand that Harry had used to kill Voldemort. Maybe he didn't know.

Harry shook his head at his seemingly endless thoughts and ponderings of Malfoy. Honestly, he seemed to be as obsessed with him as Ron and Hermione had accused him of being their sixth year. Not that he would tell them, or anyone that, of course. No, this time, his obsession would be kept private. He figured they would get back to school, and nothing would happen; Malfoy would be his usual scornful, snotty self, and they would go back to trading the occasional insult. Just like normal. One could hope.

* * *

The next day was Harry's house-warming party. He refused to think of it as a birthday party. He hated the attention. Nevertheless, the Weasley's all brought gifts, except for Ginny, who had stayed at home to sulk, much to Harry's secret relief. He thought he had hidden his look of glee upon hearing that she wasn't coming from Mrs. Weasley, but by the twinkle in her amused eyes, he thought, perhaps not.

He had also invited Andromeda and Tonks back, as well as Luna and Neville, and they all had a great time catching up. Everyone marveled at his 'beautiful' home, and couldn't believe the transformation. Nor could they believe the transformation in Harry's appearance. He blushed bashfully as he received compliment after compliment, mostly from the women. He may feel more confident than ever before, but he didn't think he'd ever get used to receiving such forthcoming compliments. It left him feeling quite awkward.

After they were done fawning over his home and body, which George cheekily stated, 'was dead sexy, just like Hermione said', earning an eye roll from Harry and a glare from Ron, they ate the food that the elves had painstakingly prepared, and it was so good that Harry thought they must have taken the hint about his constant ravings about Mrs. Weasley's cooking, and gone to the burrow for pointers. He wasn't complaining.

After they had gotten their tour and eaten around the large living room casually, they spent a few hours enjoying each other's company. George was more animated than Harry had seen him since the battle, Harry happily noted. The company seemed to do everyone good, and Harry said goodbye to them later that night with a strong warmth radiating through him. This was what he wanted. Regardless of what career path he chose in the future, he wanted to feel this way always. Warm and content, knowing that he was home and he was surrounded by people he loved. If he could attain that, he thought he could be happy doing anything. He sighed happily and went to sleep early, knowing that tomorrow he would have to wake up early to make it to King's Cross in time for the train to depart. Again using his occlumency shields, he blocked out all of his feelings about the next day, and drifted off peacefully.

* * *

A/N: As always, please review! Reading them brightens my day and keeps me determined to continue with this story.


	11. Chapter 11

Harry woke up early again, before his wand was set to go off with an alarm clock spell. He soaked in the few extra minutes relaxing, trying to calm his nerves as he thought about the coming school year. He finally rolled out of bed and took a long hot shower, feeling his tense muscles slowly begin to unknot.

After styling his hair with his pomade, he got dressed in a casual pair of jeans slung low on his hips, with a lightweight green V-neck sweater, finishing his look with his casual brown loafers. He would change into his new school robes on the train right before they got to Hogwarts. He opened up his trunk and double checked that he had everything he needed, throwing his pomade into it before he forgot to pack it, and went to have a light breakfast.

He had plans to meet Ron and Hermione at King's cross in a little over a half hour, and he felt as if the time was moving as slow as molasses. Finally, when it was time to go, be lightened and shrunk his trunk, said goodbye to Winky and Kreacher, and left his house.

* * *

Harry leaned against one of the pillars at King's Cross station, waiting for Ron and Hermione to arrive and trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. Merlin, would he ever get used to people gawking at him so openly?

He turned as he heard his name being shouted from a familiar voice. "Harry!" He grimaced as he came face to face with Ginny.

"Er, hi Gin. How are you?" he asked her, fidgeting slightly.

"Merlin, I hardly recognized you! You look so different. No, no, no, it's a good different. A _really_ good different," she assured him, misinterpreting the wary look he was giving her as she inched closer to him, reaching for his arm.

He backed away quickly. "Er, thanks. Listen, have you seen Ron and Hermione? I've been waiting for them," he said, trying to change the subject. She frowned at him and shook her head.

He shot her a look out of the corner of his eye as he turned away slightly. "So I thought you weren't going to speak to me. Shouldn't you be busy with your string of men?" He knew he was being nasty to her, but he found he didn't really care all that much. He was still pissed at her for putting him in such an uncomfortable position and throwing herself at him.

She gave him a reproachful look. "Oh, please. Mum was mad for like a day. She's over it now. And if I want to, yes I can have any man I want," she said with a smug look, trying to bait him into jealousy. It didn't work.

He ignored her and looked around the platform. She would get the message to leave him alone, surely? This proved to be correct a few minutes later when he heard her huff under her breath, muttering something about 'such a stubborn arse', and stalk off to find her friends. He smirked to himself and decided to follow a minute later, tired of waiting. He needed to find a compartment anyway, and hopefully an empty one.

* * *

Harry looked up sharply as the compartment door was thrown open minutes before the train was to depart. In sauntered a disheveled looking Hermione, and a smug looking Ron.

"Harry, there you are! We've been looking all over for you. We passed about five empty compartments looking for you. Looks like there will be an all-time low number of students at Hogwarts this year, even with a lot of us returning for 8th year. I bet parents are still scared to send their children here," She said, nervously tugging her shirt down.

Harry ignored her half-hearted attempt to distract him from their disheveled and telling appearances. "Merlin, could you two be more obvious," said, gaping at them in disbelief. They both grinned sheepishly and gave him slightly apologetic looks.

"Well, who knows when we'll get the chance to be alone again. Gotta take advantage of these opportunities when they strike, mate!" Ron said, throwing a gloating smile his way.

Harry rolled his eyes at them, and chose to ignore Hermione's suddenly tomato like appearance.

"Oh, is it really that obvious Harry?" She asked, wringing her hands in embarrassment.

"Only if you have eyes," He said, grinning at her. That earned him an eye roll in return as he snorted in laughter.

"Well, anyways, I can't wait to see what sort of curriculum we learn. They can't just give us the same as the 7th years. Most of the people coming back were actually here for their 7th year. The Carrows were crazy, but all of the other professors stuck to the material they were supposed to teach as much as possible. So they can't just teach the same stuff," Hermione began excitedly.

This earned a groan from both Harry and Ron. Not even five minutes into their ride, and already she was obsessing over school work.

"Let me guess," Ron said in a teasing tone. "You already read the new books that were assigned for this year."

"Well, of course," She said with a blank look, as if there were no other option. "We're going to be behind everyone else, since all of the other returning 8th years will have had _some material_ from last tear. So I think I have a good handle on the material they most likely went over last year. But we'll see." She looked fretfully towards the boys as she spoke of being behind their classmates.

"Hermione, relax. I'm sure we'll catch up in no time. They'll take into account that even though most of these people who are returning for their 8th year were here last year, they got a crap education. I mean, half of Gryffindor was hiding in the room of requirement half the year, don't forget," Harry said in a reassuring tone.

"Yeah, don't worry Mione. You're the smartest witch in our year, no need to worry," Ron said in a disgustingly sweet voice.

Harry tuned them out after that, having no interest in hearing their syrupy words. He stared out the window and let himself relax and take in his last ride on the Hogwarts train.

An hour later, he heard the trolley witch coming towards their compartment and Harry met her in the hallway, feeling peckish and thinking a pumpkin pastry was in order, maybe a chocolate frog. He had his head down as he rummaged in his pockets looking for his money, when he felt a sharp nudge at his side.

Looking up a moment later after finding his money, he met grey eyes that were startlingly close to his own. Merlin, of course Malfoy was standing right there. It was just Harry's fucking luck.

"Malfoy," He said, startled. Even after thinking the whole summer about how he would react upon seeing his nemesis again, and telling himself over and over again how much smoother and suave he would be, he found all of this flew out of his head in the reality of the situation.

He glanced quickly up and down the corridor to see it empty save the two of them and the trolley witch. Thank Merlin for small blessings. The last thing he needed was an audience watching him get tongue tied in front of his supposed nemesis. People were used to seeing the two of them trading stinging insults and generally had to duck for cover to avoid the occasional hex or two from the pair; they were NOT used to seeing a pair of stumbling, awkward boys who blushed when they got within five feet of each other. He took a moment to be happy that he had closed the curtains around their compartment so that no passerby's could gawk at Harry as he sat in his compartment; Ron and Hermione wouldn't be able to see out into the hallway.

"Looking for someone to rescue you?" Malfoy mockingly asked.

Harry hastily backed away, trying to make it look as nonchalant as possible. He didn't think he succeeded as well as he would have liked when he saw Malfoy's slight smirk stretch into a nasty grin. He arched one eyebrow elegantly and waited for Harry to say something.

"Get away from me, Malfoy," Harry barked out. He refused to be used for Malfoy's amusement. He side-stepped Malfoy and stepped up to the trolley cart, perusing the choices and trying to ignore the blonde's presence at his side as he made his selections.

"My, my, Potter. Someone's a little jumpy, eh? Why would that be, do you think?" He glanced at Harry sideways, the same infuriating smirk and raised eyebrow meeting Harry's line of sight. Never before had Malfoy actually sought Harry out before (they generally avoided each other like the plague), and Harry thought it very obvious that Malfoy must have been agonizingly bored being cooped up over the summer, and of _course_ the first chance he saw Harry he would take the opportunity to taunt him mercilessly.

Harry growled under his breath and turned away in determination. It might be childish to ignore Malfoy, but he honestly had no idea what to say now that they were semi-alone together. And he may have been slightly panicking inside. Slightly. He paid for his treats and stuffed them quickly into his pocket. He then tried to walk back to his compartment, but was blocked by Malfoy, who shot a hand out and gripped Harry's upper arm tightly, which instantly burned with fire. Malfoy was close to him again and Harry could do nothing but stare up at the slightly taller blonde with wide eyes.

"Um, correct me if I'm wrong Potter, but are you _seriously_ giving me the _silent treatment?_ " Malfoy asked in such a voice that Harry thought he might as well have added, 'I'm a _Malfoy_ , and _Malfoy's_ will not be ignored.' He scoffed on the inside.

Malfoy was looking at him incredulously, with narrowed eyes, all traces of his trademark smirk disappearing from his face. "You don't think we should probably _talk_?! I mean, unless you'd rather we kissed agai-," He was cut off abruptly as Harry slapped his hand against Malfoy's mouth. Malfoy let out an undignified squeak at Harry's panicked move.

"Shut the hell up!" Harry whispered fiercely. "Anyone could hear you!" After making sure that no one had been eavesdropping on them, he wrenched his hand back from Malfoy's mouth, who still looked stunned.

A second later, Malfoy seemed to shake off his surprise and leaned in towards Harry again, with an amused look on his face. "God, Potter. I knew you couldn't wait to get your hands on me again, but no need to be so desperate!" He smirked triumphantly at Harry's enraged look. Really, Potter made it too easy.

Harry stared back at Malfoy in embarrassed fury. How _dare_ the blonde constantly get the upper hand on him. It just wasn't right.

And then, Harry started to get an idea in his mind. A dirty, low, wonderful idea. Two could play at this game.

* * *

He twisted his head slightly to be sure that they were still alone in the corridor, save for the trolley witch who was several compartments away at this point, and not paying them any attention. Satisfied that they had a few more minutes before Ron and Hermione surfaced enough from their little love bubble to notice his lengthy absence, he decided to implement his spur of the moment plan. He only hoped it didn't backfire on him, and that he could give Malfoy a taste of his own medicine.

Spying one of the many empty compartments that Hermione had spoken of, Harry glanced back at a confused looking Malfoy. With an evil smirk, Harry grabbed his forearm and roughly tugged his towards the open door. Malfoy stumbled after him, for once seemingly shocked into silence.

Harry slammed the compartment door closed behind them, drew the curtains and muttered a locking and privacy spell at the door, ignoring Malfoy's sky high eyebrows. He swiftly turned and folded his arms, leaning against the door in a relaxed pose. And shockingly, he _was_ relaxed. Well, as relaxed as he had ever been around Malfoy; it seemed that when Harry took charge, he was calmer. Turning the tables and shocking the composed blonde, who was now standing stiffly with a wary look on his face, felt really, _really_ good.

Harry gave him an expectant look. "Well, you wished to speak to me?"

Malfoy simply gaped at him for a moment. Clearly this wasn't what he had been expecting by taunting Harry, who was determined to prove to the blonde that he had matured and would no longer fly off the handle at the slightest provocation.

"…Wished to _speak_ to you? What sort of game are you playing at here, Potter," Malfoy said with narrowed eyes.

"Game? Who's playing a game?" He asked in an innocent voice. " _You_ said you wanted to talk, and here we are. _You_ approached _me_ , don't forget. _Both_ times, I should mention," Harry muttered, stressing his words so that Malfoy would catch on to his meaning. He couldn't believe how brave he was being, bringing up their kiss to the blonde to his face so blatantly. He snorted in laughter as a telling flush filled Malfoy's face.

Malfoy scowled at Harry's reaction to his embarrassment and obvious taunting. "Well, you've certainly grown a pair, haven't you? And what's this, a new look for the _new_ _Potter_?" He challenged angrily.

Harry just shrugged lightly, fingering the soft material of his green sweater that brought out the color in his vivid eyes as Malfoy watched his movements with sharp eyes.

After a moment of Malfoy staring up and down Harry's body and different hair style, Harry started to grow uncomfortable. Time to get this back under his control. "Like what you see?" He asked in an arched voice.

Malfoy jolted back as if he had been struck, his flush becoming more pronounced. "I wasn't- _I'm_ _not_ _looking_ _at_ _you_ , _Potter_! Not _everyone_ drools over you, you know!" He exclaimed in a forceful voice.

Harry snorted again at Malfoy's lame attempt at denial. This was quite fun; he could see why Malfoy did it so much.

"Look, deny it all you want. But you can't keep your eyes off me; I can _see_ _you_ watching me. And as much as you don't like it, you came up to me today. _You_ kissed _me_. Not the other way around, so try and remember that the next time you set about to taunt me," He said calmly. This was better. This, he was used to. He could play word games with Malfoy all day long; it was what they had always done. As long as they both kept their distance, the strange day at the ministry would be forgotten.

"Yes, and maybe you shouldn't forget that _you_ kissed me _back_ , you filthy hypocrite," He snapped at Harry.

Or maybe it _wouldn't_ be forgotten.

Harry felt his face heat immediately. Damn, how had he forgotten the fact that Malfoy was equally, if not better, at the word games they loved to play? He wasn't sure how he would get out of this with his dignity still intact. It wasn't like Malfoy was the only guilty party here. He may have started it, but Harry had certainly responded enthusiastically enough after a moments shock.

"Well, there wasn't much more I could do with you attacking me like that!" That was a piss poor excuse and he knew it. Apparently, so did Malfoy.

"What? Are you seriously standing there trying to tell me that you couldn't have just pushed me away? Is that really what you're sticking with?" Malfoy scoffed at him in disbelief.

"Well, what have you got to say for yourself? Why did you kiss me?" Harry demanded. Just keep deflecting, he thought. That'll show him! God, he felt like an idiot.

Malfoy seemed to splutter, unable to respond.

Harry sighed loudly. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all. "Look, obviously we made a mistake. Both of us equally, alright? Call it a lapse in judgement, call it whatever you want, but it shouldn't have happened, and it sure as hell won't happen again," Harry said, giving him an exasperated look and then looking out the window. This was going nowhere, fast.

They stared at each other, not knowing what to say. Harry started when he felt Malfoy invade his personal space once again.

"What are you doing, Malfoy?" He asked in a forced calm voice. He wouldn't panic. He wouldn't!

"Are you sure?" Malfoy asked in a strangled voice. He seemed to be fighting his urge to act. Harry felt a silent thrill up his spine as he realized that it was just as difficult for Malfoy as it was for Harry to resist the other. Harry closed his eyes as he felt warm breath caress his jaw. He stiffened, determined not to move closer to that warmth.

"Am I sure about what?" Really, it was amazing how normal Harry thought he sounded, because inside, he was quaking.

"It not happening again," he heard whispered beneath his ear, before lips followed. Harry breathed in sharply, his eyes fluttering shut as he involuntarily arched his neck to allow for better access. Thankfully, he was still leaning against the door, so when his knees buckled slightly, he didn't completely fall over.

Malfoy caught his shoulders to stabilize him, and pulled himself closer, trailing his lips tenderly down Harry's neck, teasing him with light, barely there kisses.

"What is this? What are we _doing_?" Harry whispered in between gasps. He could scarcely think, let alone talk clearly. He didn't know what it was about the blonde that got him so worked up.

All Harry wanted to pull Malfoy closer and kiss him properly, but he forced himself to open his eyes and push Malfoy away, gently disengaging them from each other.

He watched, still breathing heavily, as Malfoy, who was also breathing heavily, leaned away from him and groaned at the ceiling. "Oh my God, what are we doing?" Malfoy earnestly asked, looking at Harry through still glazed eyes with a despairing look. It was such an honest, open look, that Harry couldn't find it in himself to mock the blonde and taunt him for kissing Harry _again_.

Harry shook his head slightly. "I have no fucking idea," he muttered dejectedly. He leaned his head back against the door, avoiding Malfoy's questioning gaze.

"Normally, I can't stand you. I think you're a poncy, selfish git." Harry paused, expecting to hear and outraged cry from the boy in front of him. Hearing only their breathing that was calming down, he continued. "But ever since that day at the ministry, I can't get you out of my fucking head." He snapped his head down, glaring at Malfoy in preparation for the snarky comment he was sure that Malfoy would give in response. But instead, he found Malfoy had sunk down onto the seat next to them and was nodding his head, looking at the floor.

"Yeah, I think I know what you mean," he said, meeting Harry's eyes again. They stared at each other for a minute before breaking away again as the heat began to build.

"So, what now?" Harry asked, not really expecting an answer.

"What do you want to do?" Malfoy asked him. Such a simple question it was. Simple, but loaded.

"What do I want to do?" He laughed humorlessly. "I don't think I should answer that question, Malfoy," Harry muttered, shooting him a pointedly heated look.

Malfoy colored and looked away. They seemed to be at an impasse, so Harry broke away from the wall and made to turn around to leave.

"I should go. Ron and Hermione will come looking for me, and wouldn't _this_ little scene be fun to explain," he said sarcastically.

Malfoy stood up too, once again in Harry's personal space. Harry ignored this, and reached for the handle, about to unlock the door when he suddenly remembered something.

"Oh!" He whipped around and looked at Malfoy's surprised face. "I have something for you." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out Malfoy's wand that had served him so well in the past. It was high time that the blonde have it back.

"Here," he said, holding the wand out carefully.

Malfoy gasped at seeing his wand again. It had been so long. "My wand! I've been using my mother's this whole time. It works alright, but it's not the same," he trailed off, sensing he was rambling in his surprise.

"Well, I guess I should thank you. Without your wand, well, I think the war may have had a different outcome. It worked well for me. So, yeah, thanks," he finished awkwardly.

And then, he forgot all about his awkwardness. Malfoy had looked up upon inspection of his wand and was beaming at him with the most unreserved look that Harry had ever seen on his face before. It was beautiful. Harry blamed it on what happened next.

* * *

He stepped forward and yanked a startled Malfoy towards him, crashing their lips together. His heart was beating alarmingly fast, and a warmth spread throughout his body, heating him up as he had never been before. And this kiss was completely different than the one they had shared before at the ministry, because this one was Harry's choice, his decision, and he didn't regret it one bit.

He captured Malfoy's gasp in his mouth, tasting it, reveling in it, loving it. He pulled back almost immediately so that Malfoy could draw a shaky breath, and Harry nipped his bottom lip playfully, boldly.

"Merlin, Potter, what are you doing to me?" Malfoy murmured against his lips, before kissing Harry back.

Harry was once again shoved back against the door, with Malfoy pushed close against him, their hands in each other's hair, tugging, needing each other closer. They were kissing so desperately, so passionately, that Harry didn't hear the knocking on the door for a minute. Malfoy gasped as Harry ripped his lips away, repeating the favor the blonde had given him earlier, mouthing hungrily at Malfoy's neck and earning sharp small whimpers from Malfoy. He knew he had found a particularly sensitive spot behind Malfoy's ear when Malfoy gasped loudly and clutched Harry's hair and upper arm so tightly that Harry thought he might leave a bruise. And he didn't care. He could do this all day, every day. He loved that he could bring this cold, collected young man to such a quivering, breathy mess. He moved away, intending to bring his lips back to Malfoy's, when the knock sounded again, this time more insistently.

He made to move away, when Malfoy shook his head sharply. "No!" he whispered into Harry's ear. "I've waited all fucking summer for this Potter. No way in hell are you opening that door right now."

Harry blushed scarlet upon hearing these words and leaned his forehead against Malfoy's, feeling an unbearable tightness in his chest. It was terrifying, and wonderful. "I know. Me too," he whispered back.

He opened his eyes and saw that Malfoy was looking at him with a look of wonder on his face, wonder and fear. "I don't know what this is. I'm not someone who…who loses control like this, attacking someone every time I'm alone with them. And especially over _Saint_ _Potter_!" He seemed to be talking to himself at this point, and Harry didn't stop him. "I don't go from detesting someone to wanting to…" he trailed off again, looking at Harry uncertainly. "Have you ever done this before?"

"Ever done what?" Harry asked.

" _This_. With, you know, a man," he muttered, his cheeks coloring once again. Harry couldn't help thinking once again that he couldn't believe this was _Malfoy_ in front of him, saying these things, being so vulnerable and open, and so…UN-Malfoy.

He shook his head. "No. Never. Have you?"

Malfoy looked at him in horror. "Me? Of course not Potter. Girls throw themselves at me. What would I need with men?"

Harry didn't really know what to say to that, so he said nothing. He couldn't remember seeing Malfoy with anyone at Hogwarts, except maybe a dim recollection of Pansy Parkinson hanging all over him. But he somehow doubted that that was appealing to Malfoy. It was certainly unappealing to himself.

"And you like that? Girls throwing themselves at you?" Harry asked in curiosity.

Malfoy shrugged. "It's the easiest way to get laid."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You realize you're acting disgusted by the thought of being attracted to a man, namely ME. Yet we have kissed twice now. You don't see that as a little… strange?"

"We don't even like each other. I mean, you're an annoying, specky git!" Malfoy said, as if he were frustrated with himself and was trying to rationalize how all of this was happening.

"I'm not specky," Harry said in a distracted voice. They didn't like each other, Malfoy had said. But didn't they, though? They couldn't seem to keep their hands to themselves. And Harry had a feeling that this had been building not from that fateful day at the ministry when they had first kissed, but before, right after the final battle. He remembered being caught in Malfoy's stare and a warm feeling washing over him, much as it was now. Perhaps Voldemort's soul being driven from his body had opened Harry up, let him see that all those times that he and Malfoy had fought, they were overcompensating for something else. Something dangerously intoxicating.

"Huh?"

Harry looked at him and said slowly, "I'm not specky anymore. I got rid of my glasses. You've been staring at me so much I'm surprised you haven't noticed."

Malfoy blanched. Had he been that obvious? "I did notice thank you very much! You're still a specky git."

"Whatever. I'm a specky git, but you still want me," Harry said, with more confidence than he felt. When Malfoy didn't say anything, Harry looked at him closer. Malfoy seemed to be on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Malfoy?" He prodded gently.

Malfoy looked at him with wide eyes. He nodded slowly, almost unwillingly. "Yes. Merlin help me, but yes, I want you. And I don't even know why…" He trailed off and looked at Harry with an intense look up on his face, and it made Harry's body tingle in anticipation.

He gulped as Malfoy seemed to come to some decision within himself and seemed to accept that yes, he, Draco Malfoy, was ridiculously attracted to Harry Potter. He leaned in and kissed Harry's cheeks, so tenderly, so warmly.

How could it be that someone he had one thought was so cold could be so lovingly warm? Loving? Had he just thought of _Malfoy_ as _loving_? It was too much, too fast. And yet, he found he couldn't pull away.

With a desperate noise, Harry brought his mouth back to Malfoy's and kissed him fiercely, demandingly. Malfoy let out a startled sound when Harry suddenly flipped their positions so that Malfoy was leaning against the door instead. Smirking, Harry leaned closer, pressing his body into Malfoy's, trailing his hands up his arms to his neck and through his hair. He smiled as he watched Malfoy practically purr in delight, throwing his head back slightly at the sensations coursing through his body.

Harry paused, lost in watching Malfoy, and was suddenly looking into his gray eyes, so openly warm and hazy that Harry caught his breath in his throat, that alarming feeling clenching his chest again. He ignored the feeling, and concentrated on the young man in front of him. He trailed one hand back down Malfoy's neck, and brought it up to cup his cheek. He tilted his head slightly so that he could better look into Malfoy's eyes, and stared. Malfoy made a small whining noise in the back of his throat as he strained forward, trying to capture Harry's lips with his own, but Harry gripped his hair again and tugged him sharply back. Malfoy huffed out an annoyed breath, but stopped when Harry trailed his fingers over Malfoy's swollen lips.

"I don't know why it's you," Harry murmured, still looking at his lips, caressing them with the tips of his shaking fingers. "I never felt this- _intensity_ \- with Ginny. Or anyone. And we're supposed to be enemies, and yet I…" he cut himself off, unsure of what he was saying, or what he _wanted_ to say. But he was overwhelmed, and the intensity between them was suffocating him in the most pleasurable way. Never before had he known such passion, such want, and all for a boy that he had trained himself to despise.

Malfoy didn't answer, and instead brought his own hand up to cup Harry's jaw in response, tilting his head back so that Malfoy could kiss him. Harry let him, and was soon swept away in a deep, slow kiss. He leaned heavily into Malfoy, his body a pool of melting goodness, and moaned low in his throat. This was it. This was what he had been craving, he realized. All summer long, he had longed for this, this deep, meaningful kiss with Malfoy. They had never shared a kiss like this before; The kiss at the ministry had been out of the blue and rushed. This though, this slow, exploratory kiss, this was what Harry wanted. Desperately craved, because it wasn't mindless hormonal action. It was feeling, and Merlin, he craved feelings like this. Ginny had never made him feel anything of the sort, and he knew he was in trouble when he heard Malfoy answer his moan with a breathy groan of his own, sinking deeper into the kiss.

They were both in desperate need of air, so Harry pulled back, trailing small chaste kisses over Malfoy's face, unable to part from him. He was pulled not a moment later into another toe clenchingly sweet kiss, and he felt his eyes prickle at the surprising sweetness of it. He pulled away after several long minutes, leaning his forehead once again upon Malfoy's with a long sigh. They stayed like that another few minutes, just holding each other close and breathing each other in.

Harry eventually pulled away after they bad both calmed down and straightened his sweater. He wasn't sure what to say. Kissing and whispering into each other's ears in the heat of the moment was one thing. It was another thing entirely when they had no one breaking them apart, and were both extremely aware of what they had just done.

Harry decided to break the silence as Malfoy stared at him with a wary look. "So you never told me. Like what you see," he asked with a cheeky smile, hoping that Malfoy relaxed.

Malfoy looked startled for a moment before letting out a startled burst of laughter, and looked shocked at himself for the outburst. Harry smiled warmly in response, encouraging the response. Malfoy laughed again, this time quieter, and shook his head.

"And you say _I'm_ a poncy git. At least I don't go around telling everyone how hot I am," he said with his familiar smirk back in place.

"So you admit it. You think I'm hot." Harry laughed at the incredulous face of his companion and ducked away as he was swiped at lightly. They both snorted with laughter together for a moment before Malfoy sobered, and Harry followed.

"I really should be getting back," Harry said with a slightly apologetic look.

Malfoy rolled his eyes in amused exasperation, the warmth still radiating lightly in his eyes. They stood up straighter, and Harry once again reached for the door handle. He stopped as he felt the warm weight of Malfoy's hand on his shoulder. He stilled and turned slowly, knowing that when he did-

He was unsurprised when a warm pair of lips met his own, and sank into it for a few moments, wrapping his arm around Malfoy's waist and tugging him close once more, before Malfoy shoved him lightly away.

"You should go," he said gently.

Harry trailed his hand down Malfoy's face lightly, caressing him. He leaned in one last time and gave him a slow, lazy kiss before turning and leaving swiftly.

He panicked as he glanced around, breathing a sigh of relief to see that no one was in the corridor. He waited a moment to move, drawing upon his occlumency shields to composing himself. He was shocked to find that the shields he normally kept up all day, every day out of habit, had apparently crumbled somewhere in the middle of his and Malfoy's…whatever that had been. He pushed it to the back of his mind to deal with later, squared his shoulders, and opened his compartment.

* * *

A/N: A nice long chapter for all my readers. Let me know what you think!


	12. Chapter 12

"Harry, where in the world have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you," Hermione jumped up, getting that look in her eyes that told Harry that she was in grilling mode.

He sighed and slumped in his seat, holding up his hand to stop her tirade before it began. "I was speaking with Malfoy," he said, deciding that going for a version of the truth would be the safest approach. He was good at hiding things, but Hermione was too smart for her own good.

"Malfoy? Why?" She asked with a scrunched up nose, while Ron looked at Harry as if he had grown two heads.

Harry shrugged, looking out the window. "We just had things to discuss. And I gave him his wand back."

"You gave him his wand back? Why in the bloody hell would you do that? The git's probably going to use it to hex you into oblivion. Once a death eater, always a death eater," Ron said nastily.

Hermione shot him a reproachful glare. "Everyone deserves their wand, Ron. How would you like being without _yours_?"

Harry attempted to tune them out. He wasn't in the mood to deal with them. He wanted to be alone, and couldn't wait to get to the castle so that he could blend into the crowd and lose himself in his thoughts. And then he laughed at himself lightly. _Him_ , blend in with the crowd? Those kisses with Malfoy must have addled his brain more than he thought.

He was able to distract himself a few minutes later when Ron suggested they play wizards chess, which Harry readily agreed to. Anything to numb his racing thoughts for a few hours.

* * *

Harry groaned as his chess piece was once again blown to smithereens and Ron crowed triumphantly as he won yet _another_ game. Harry grinned back at him and looked around surprised when he saw students passing through the hallways in their school uniforms. He had opened the curtains to further distract himself, and it seemed to have worked as the last few hours of their trip to Hogwarts had flown by.

Hermione sat hunched next to Ron with her nose so close to the book she was reading that Harry wouldn't be surprised if when she looked up she had ink smudges on her nose. Ron nudged her and she startled, gasping as she too saw the students milling around in preparation to depart.

"Goodness! I must have lost track of time! Hurry, we need to change!" She exclaimed, already in a frenzy.

Harry and Ron rolled their eyes at each other in amusement. Some things never changed.

They both pulled their robes on over their clothes, and joined the students in the hallway as the train slowly lurched to a stop.

All around him, it got quiet, and then the students exploded in chatter. Harry sighed and huddled in between Ron and Hermione. This was why he had hidden out most of the summer, only going into Diagon Alley when absolutely necessary for home furnishings. He didn't think he'd ever get used to the attention.

He saw Luna and Neville coming towards him, pushing their way through the crowd. They were discreetly holding hands, and Harry shot them a warm smile; he had thought he sensed something different between the pair. He was happy for them, just like he was for Ron and Hermione.

Together, the five of them left the train and were waiting for the thestral carriages to take them when Harry heard someone shout his name.

"Oi! Harry!" He turned around and saw a massively grinning Dean and Seamus heading towards their group. Harry waved back, excited that his Gryffindor friends were all back for their 8th year.

"Hey mate! Good summer? We weren't sure if you two were coming back this year." Harry said with a grin and slap to their backs.

Seamus scowled as he replied, "Eh, me Mam wouldn't hear a word against it. She was all education this, and education that. I say, I did my time, and that's enough. It's sorta strange being back, for an 8th year."

Hermione gave him a reproving look. "And she was right too. We will all have much better prospects, even more so than the 7th years who graduate this year!" She was positively buzzing with energy and seemed completely undisturbed when they, as a group, groaned at her predictable speech about education.

Harry was listening to the groups' light chatter when he was pulled a little off to the side by Dean. With a confused look to the boy, Harry followed, ignoring dozens of pairs of eyes that were boring into him.

"Everything alright, Dean?" Harry asked, noticing the boy's nervous behavior.

"Er, yeah everything's fine. It's just…" And here he leaned in to whisper into Harry's ear. "Ginny, she er… She seems like she's trying to, you know get back together with me. And I had heard that you two had broken up, it was bloody all over the paper this summer, but then I saw pictures of you two off in Diagon Alley on a date, and so I wanted to check with you to see if you were still…"

Harry cut him off with a small smile. "Yeah, we broke up a few months ago. We're just friends. Sort of. But yeah, go for it. I'm definitely not into her like that," he said.

Dean grinned at him and was about to walk away when Harry pulled him back. He couldn't lie to Dean. "I just thought I should tell you, Ginny, she doesn't seem to me like she's ready to move on. From me, that is. She keeps trying to…seduce me," He whispered in embarrassment.

Dean laughed at him and shook him head. "Believe me, she pulled me into an empty compartment, and I think she's over it," he said with a wink.

Harry smiled back weakly. "Alright, do whatever you want Dean. Just, be careful with her. I don't want her to hurt you."

Dean shoved him lightly and walked back to the group. There was a lull in the conversation, and Harry saw Seamus grab Pavarti who was walking by and swing her around to plant a firm kiss on her lips before she squealed and laughingly shoved him away as he swatted her bottom. Harry ogled at the pair. Was he the only single person left at Hogwarts?

It seemed he wasn't the only one thinking these thoughts.

"Oi, Harry!" Dean said loudly. "We need to set you up with someone. It's time the hero of the wizarding world got some ACTION!" He said this last part so loudly that Harry cringed and flushed with embarrassment. He just knew by the silence that everyone had stopped their conversations around them to listen to them. He looked up and shot a glare at Dean, before muttering lowly, "I'm fine, thanks."

"Bullocks!" Seamus said, getting in on it. "You and Ginny broke up ages ago! Time to get back out there!" Harry fidgeted uncomfortably and shot Hermione and Ron pleading looks to save him.

Ron just shook his head and said with a grin, "Mate, I know you broke up with my sister, but Hermione and I agree. You deserve some…happiness." He said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Ron!" He exclaimed. Everyone was still listening to their conversation and he was absolutely mortified. He didn't need any help, and they would know that if they had any inkling of what he had been doing that afternoon with Malfoy. His ears burned at the thought and he looked away. "Can we talk about this _later_ , please?!"

"Oh, Harry, relax! You wouldn't be dressed like that if you didn't want _someone_ to notice you this year," she said matter of factly.

"Dressed like _what_?! I'm in _school robes_!" he retorted hotly, losing his patience at his friends meddling.

"Oh, you know what I mean! You look all, well, sorry Ron, but you look HOT!" She said, blushing slightly. Harry closed his eyes and groaned, and then shot his head up as a carriage pulled up a little ways away from him. He sprinted towards it and jumped in to escape his friends, ignoring their cries and catcalling, telling him to lighten up. He sighed in relief as he sat down and leaned back against the seat.

"Couldn't stay away, eh?"

Harry jumped so high his head hit the top of the carriage. He opened his eyes in shock as he stared back at Malfoy who was draped casually over the seat across from him.

"Malfoy! I didn't know you were in here!"

"Sure you didn't, Potter." Malfoy drawled.

Harry rolled his eyes. What an arrogant sod. "I _didn't_! I just ran to the first carriage I found. Honestly, they're all vultures!" He was still irritated with his friends.

"Yes, I did hear some of that. You're that desperate that you'd have them set you up with someone?" He arched a mocking eyebrow in Harry's direction, and Harry scowled back.

"Of course not, you git! The'yre just meddling. They think that since I broke up with Ginny at the beginning of the summer that I need to be with someone else. They're all paired off now; I think they feel guilty that they're all with someone and I'm still not." He said in a rush, refusing to look at the blonde. It was so strange that they were having yet _another_ conversation, but natural at the same time.

"Mhmm. They don't want you to feel like a third wheel." He stated.

Harry nodded his head in silence.

"So, are you going to?" At Harry's questioning look, Malfoy elaborated. "Are you going to have them set you up with someone?" He finished innocently.

Harry shot him a calculating look. "No," he said slowly. "I don't really see the point."

"Why not," Malfoy asked, looking out the window to the night sky.

Harry didn't answer him right away. At his continued silence, Malfoy gave up his pretense of being uninterested in their conversation and sat up straighter, leaning forward slightly.

Harry shifted in his seat slightly, feeling intensely uncomfortable under Malfoy's intense gaze.

"You don't have to stare at me like that, you know!" He snapped.

Malfoy just blinked at him and kept on staring. Harry sighed and resigned himself to answering.

"Well, isn't it obvious? This… thing, whatever the hell it is, between us," he started, gesturing between the two of them quickly, before continuing. "It's… been on my mind a bit, and so I don't see the point in trying to start something with someone when I really have no idea what the hell is happening. Or what it means. I've never been attracted to a man before, and even now, just out there, I tried to look at it objectively, but all of the guys I saw, I see them just as I always do. I have no…inclination towards them. So whatever that means, I don't know," he said, still uncomfortable.

Malfoy didn't say anything, which Harry was startlingly unsurprised at. He felt like, had he said this to Malfoy a year ago, he would have expected and probably gotten a viscous remark in return. Now though, Harry knew that his silence meant that he was thinking before he responded; what scared Harry so much was the fact that he knew that in the first place.

"Did you always feel like that, all these years?" he asked carefully.

Harry shook his head sharply. "No, definitely not. Just… lately. After the battle. I don't know," he said lamely, looking anywhere but at Malfoy. God, this was embarrassing. And then he said, "How about you?"

Malfoy answered with a short "No," and said nothing else. They both sat there for the remainder of the short carriage ride up to the castle lost in their own thoughts, as they both equally, privately reveled in how comfortable they seemed to have gotten with each other in such a short amount of time.

As they pulled up to the castle, Harry looked once more at Malfoy, tracing his features slowly.

"Like what you see?" Malfoy repeated Harry's earlier question back to him in a light voice while still gazing out the window.

Harry smirked at him. "Yes," he stated boldly.

Malfoy jerked his eyes to Harry in quiet surprise and smiled slightly.

They both stood up as their carriage came to a grinding halt, swaying slightly into each other at the abrupt movement.

They looked at each other for a beat before both leaning in and capturing each other's mouths in a tentative kiss, tasting each other slowly, lightly. Harry had no urge to deepen it this time, and nor, did it seem, did Malfoy. They were content to lightly kiss for a few moments before parting and grinning like fools.

"You're so different," Harry said in a wondering voice. He didn't think he needed to elaborate; Malfoy would know that he was talking about since after the war.

He nodded, and said "I think probably everyone is different, after the war. And the things were all forced to do. I'm just glad it's over, and I can start living the life that _I_ want to live, instead of worrying about what my father will say now that he's locked up in Azkaban for the rest of his life, or fearing some stark raving-mad lunatic." He said all of this in a hushed voice, as if Voldemort were still around to hear his high treason.

Harry stroked his cheek lightly, watching as Malfoy's eyelids fluttered in response. "I'm glad it's over too. Very, very glad."

Malfoy kept his eyes closed as he leaned in for another light kiss, which Harry immediately responded to, cupping the sharp jaw in his hand.

They parted once again and left the carriage, both choosing to ignore the multitude of eyes that snapped their way. They didn't acknowledge one another after they left the carriage through an unspoken agreement, and Harry veered off almost right away to find his friends so that he could shame them into guilt. It was times like these when he thought he would make a rather good Slytherin.

* * *

He found them sitting at their usual spot at Gryffindor table. They all immediately looked apologetic upon seeing him stalking towards them.

They apologized profusely, saying they hadn't thought he would take it so personally, and really, he really DID look hot, and they would drop it and let him do what he wanted to do, and Harry waved it off with a slight smile. He had forgotten his anger at yet another opportunity to sit and talk and have a few stolen moments with Malfoy again.

They were relieved at his turned mood and all settled down to chat with the other students around them. Harry listened halfheartedly, and found himself looking slightly to the left of Ron's shoulder across from him towards the Slytherin table, looking for a certain pale blonde head of hair.

Finding him quickly, Harry frowned as he took in the scene before him. Malfoy said completely alone, save for Blaise Zabini, whose family he knew had remained carefully neutral throughout the war. Zabini had his head tucked low, leaning in to mutter something to Malfoy covertly, not that there was anyone around to eavesdrop. But Harry could see dozens of eyes darting their eyes towards the two older Slytherins warily. And then Harry looked further down the table and was surprised to see that the table was the least full he had ever seen. Malfoy and Zabini were the only two of the Slytherins to have returned for their 8th year, and there were also several 7th and 6th years missing. Harry assumed it was because of the strong stigma that was now attached to the 'dark' house that parents had chosen to keep their children at home in lieu of tainting their children with Slytherin's reputation.

And then with a jolt, Harry realized that he hadn't even questioned why Malfoy had been in the carriage by himself. The blonde hadn't seemed fazed by it, as if this wasn't a new thing and he had been expecting it. And there Harry had been complaining about his petty problems with his multitude of friends. He immediately felt disgusted with himself.

He still had a frown on his face when Malfoy flicked his eyes at Harry suddenly. Harry immediately felt his face shift into a small grin, unable to help himself. He saw Malfoy keep a careful hold on his own facial expression, but he rather thought the warmth in the blonde's eyes and the small twitch in his mouth gave him away.

Zabini, as shrewd as ever, stopped his chatter and followed his friend's gaze, landing on Harry with a raised eyebrow. He watched for a moment in silence and said nothing, choosing to mind his business for the moment. Harry saw this and was grateful, and it snapped him back to the moment, and made him realize that he was openly grinning, albeit smally, at Malfoy. He schooled his features quickly and looked away. He would have to warn Malfoy to watch himself around Zabini the next time they had a moment alone.

* * *

By the time the sorting was over, Harry was absolutely starving. He had shifted slightly in his seat so that Ron's tall frame blocked Malfoy from view, and therefore blocking Harry's temptation to glance every few minutes up towards the blonde.

Professor McGonagall was addressing the school and Hermione nudged him so that he would pay closer attention when she mentioned the 8th years.

"As you all know by now, we have some returning students this year, who will be completing their 8th year. Last year's events involving Lord Voldemort- "there were gasps all around and Harry snorted and rolled his eyes, causing several people to stare at him even more than they already were. He ignored them as astutely as ever and continued to listen to McGonagall. …" the event's last year prevented many people from receiving a full education, so between myself and the rest of my staff, we have decided to allow whoever wanted to, to come back to repeat their 7th years. Now, since most of you who have returned already know much of the 7th year curriculum, we will be doing a three-month refresher on all of the 7th year curriculum, and will then move on to advanced material for those of you who wish to pursue more extensive knowledge; otherwise. As a result, the 7th years and 8th years will not be in the same classes. For those of you who were unable to attend last year because of other important duties to the war effort- "at this she looked right at Harry, who squirmed underneath even more attention, "this may be a challenge to get through it all. But I have the greatest confidence in all of you to lean on each other and help each other, now that your main focus can once more be your studies," she finished strongly, with a small threatening glare throughout the hall.

She then continued. "Because there are so many of you returning, there isn't enough space in most of the dormitories. We have a large, unused wing of the castle that we spruced up this summer after we finished the repairs. You will each have a room to yourself. There is a main common room for you all to share in that wing, though you are of course welcome to visit your house common room any time you would like. Additionally, because you are all _responsible_ adults, there will be no curfew. We are not here to babysit you this year. You may leave the grounds at any time you like, come and go as you please within reason. This is an opportunity for you to finish out your education like you all deserve; I suggest you take advantage of it. It's going to be up to all of you to be responsible individuals to get to your classes on time." She finished to loud cheers from almost all of the 8th years.

Harry glanced around and noted that there were about 8 students from each house aside from Slytherin who were now in 8th year. It would be an interesting year, sharing a common room with all of the houses. But his own room! He was ecstatic. He needed privacy this year more than ever before. As he was sweeping his gaze around the great hall in curiosity, his eyes once more fell on the blonde across the hall from him, who was staring at him with a glint in his eye. No doubt he wasn't the only one that was pleased at the thought of private rooms. He flushed and looked at his plate of treacle tart, to avoid that heated gaze.

He was interrupted by Ron reaching over and shaking his shoulder in excitement. "Private rooms! Can you believe it?! Merlin, I'm going to have more privacy than I would've had at the Burrow!" He shot Hermione a lecherous smirk and she shoved him, laughing at his excitement.

"It'll be much easier to study with more privacy, too!" Hermione said loudly to all that would listen. Harry snorted and finished his treacle tart, content with his 8th year so far. He had thought it would be strange to be back again, but found that he just felt like he was home again. Well, his home away from home. He grinned to himself and happily joined in the conversation around him.


End file.
